


A long race

by rokeat



Series: A long race [1]
Category: Glee
Genre: Blam, Future Fic, M/M, Not Klaine Friendly, Not Kurt Friendly, Past Klaine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-03
Updated: 2014-09-14
Packaged: 2018-02-11 15:21:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 17
Words: 73,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2073201
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rokeat/pseuds/rokeat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sam has been feeling something different for his best friend and roommate Blaine for quite a long time, but he contents himself with seeing Blaine happy, even if it is next to Kurt instead of him. But when Kurt doesn't seem to appreciate the greatness that is Blaine and they break up, Sam will do anything in his power to be by his friend's side in every step of the way, even when times get difficult... And maybe, only maybe, someday he'll be able to show him just how perfect they are for each other.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so this is my first Blam story! It was quite difficult to start it (I had pretty clear what I wanted to do in the middle of it, but not the beginning!), so please, be patient in the first chapters!
> 
> This is basically a Blam story, and although I don't hate Kurt, he might not be the nicest person in my story, so don't expect a lot of (or hardly any) Klaine or you will be disappointed.
> 
> Also, English is not my first language, so apologies in advance for all the mistakes.
> 
> And please, enjoy!

Sam stretched his arms tiredly just before opening the door to the apartment he shared with his best friend. It had been a long and exhausting day at work and the only thing he wanted was to land on his back on the sofa with a movie on the background until he passed out. He probably wouldn’t even bother to have supper, he was so tired. He felt momentarily disappointed when he remembered that Blaine was not supposed to be home tonight, as he had a date with Kurt – _was it even possible to be on a date with whom has been your boyfriend for like a hundred years?_ -, but Sam had to admit it was probably for the better that night: if Blaine was at home, he would undoubtedly lure him into some videogames. Or worse, in teaching him some stupid dancing he’d learnt at NYADA – though Sam really suspected he was inventing those dances, NYADA wasn’t supposed to turn him into such a dork, right?-. Even if they would simply sit down to watch a movie, Sam would feel such a need to impress his best friend and make him laugh that he would be making impressions even after the last credits had rolled up. There was absolutely no rest around Blaine Anderson, Sam thought with a fond smile when he finally opened the door. And he was so tired…

When he entered the apartment, though, he immediately noticed Blaine’s keys on the little tray next to the door. May Blaine had forgotten his keys when he left? He didn’t use to. But no, Sam realized, as Blaine’s jacket was hanging from the clothes rack at the other side of the door, and it was like freezing outside so there was no way he would leave without it. Maybe Kurt had changed their plans. He did that often enough, Sam thought a little bitterly. The question, though, was that Blaine was definitely home. Damn it, Sam though even if a smile was already breaking into his lips. So much for passing out in the sofa.

“Hey, dude, I’m home!” Sam yelled as he hung his own jacket and scarf next to Blaine’s, suddenly feeling a bit less drained at the prospect of hanging out with his friend. “I don’t feel like cooking anything tonight. Are you in for some take away?”

Sam’s words were only met with silence, and that surprised him, because if the pair of them was something, that was loud. Maybe Blaine had brought Kurt over instead of them going out and they were on his room – God knows doing what?? – with the door closed, and they hadn’t heard him?

 He silently walked to Blaine’s door with the intention of gluing his ear to it for a second to discover if it was safe for him to interrupt –he definitely didn’t want to walk on them while it wasn’t safe… again–, but he was surprised again when he found the door was open and there was no sign of Kurt in the room. Only Blaine, lying with his back to the door, completely motionless but clearly not asleep judging by the tension present in his muscles.

“Blaine?” Sam asked with caution, softly knocking his knuckles on the open door asking for a permission he knew he didn’t need. But he could sense something was not right, and he wanted to be cautious. When he only got a grunt as acknowledgment of his presence, he decided to press for further information. “Didn’t you hear me? I said I was home, and if you wanted to order some food for dinner”

“Sorry, I didn’t hear you” Blaine finally spoke, and Sam could so easily hear the tears in his voice, even if he couldn’t see them through Blaine’s back. “Whatever you want, I’m not that hungry”

Sam, immediately worrying about his friend’s state, ignored all the evidence that Blaine wanted to be left alone and crossed the room until he was standing in front of Blaine. Then he gently moved Blaine’s legs to the side to make room to sit on the edge of the bed, placing a warm and caring hand on the brunet’s thigh.

“What’s wrong, bro?” Sam asked quietly, as if he was afraid to scare the other boy.

“Sam… I appreciate your concern, you’re the best, but I’d just like to be alone for a while”

Sam sighed audibly as his hand unconsciously rubbed Blaine’s side in an attempt of comfort. In all those years as Blaine’s best friend, he had seen Blaine in all kinds of moods, good and bad, euphoric –like their first night at their new apartment– and furious –like when his father all but threw him out of the family. But what Sam couldn’t stand to see was sad Blaine. Blaine in tears. It didn’t happen often, but it broke Sam’s heart every time.

“Blaine, you know me enough to know I’m not leaving you like this” Sam explained while he got up and jumped over Blaine to lay on his other side, not touching him but close enough to let him know he was there. “You don’t have to speak if you don’t want to, but I’m staying here with you”

It only took Blaine a minute to turn around to face his best friend. Sam offered a small smile, full of understanding –even though he still didn’t know what had happened– and something else that was so Sam it made Blaine smile himself. That was Sam, his best friend, his roommate for the last three years, the only person Blaine felt understood and accepted him as he was, no conditions. So he finally felt comfortable enough and slid closer to him so he could rest his head on Sam’s shoulder knowing Sam’s arms would encircle him in a second.

And they did immediately. It was nothing strange for them to cuddle every now and then, especially if one of them was feeling down. And Blaine wasn’t any embarrassed to admit those were the time he felt the most secure and comfortable, especially when Sam squeezed him strongly to his broad chest, apparently trying to protect him from all the wrong in the world. And it suddenly made him incredibly sad that it was his best friend, and not his boyfriend, making him feel like that.

“What happened, B?” Sam insisted, feeling a rush of sadness fall over his friend. He didn’t want to press, afraid Blaine would build a barrier around himself, but he needed to know. He could feel Blaine’s sorrow so strongly he could almost touch it.

“Kurt broke up with me” Blaine confessed, his voice shaky but willing himself not to cry again for Sam’s sake, knowing how much his tears usually affected the other boy.

“What?” Sam asked in utter surprise, as his arms unconsciously brought Blaine even closer to his chest, if that was possible. “What happened?”

“That’s the thing, nothing happened” Blaine explained, his fingers fidgeting nervously with Sam’s shirt. “I went to his place to pick him up for our date and he asked me in, only to throw that bomb at me. Gosh, I was going for a date, I spent like an hour getting ready for him and he only wanted to dumb me, I feel so stupid!”

“Hey, I don’t want to hear you say that, how were you to know?” Sam told him seriously, moving his hand to the back of Blaine’s neck to force him to look at him.

“I should have known when he invited me over. He never does anymore, ever since he got his new job he never finds the time to be with me. But I thought he was trying to make up for it, that he felt sorry for neglecting me. How dumb of me is that?” Blaine explained, and this time he could not stop a tear from falling down his cheek, a tear that Sam’s thumb captured immediately.

“Did he say why?”

“He said… he said he felt like he was losing his time with me”

“But why? It’s not like you aren’t completely invested in your relationship, right?” Sam asked, with a pant of jealousy that felt pretty uncomfortable, but to which he was getting quite used to lately.

“It’s not that. He said we are in different places right now. He’s a full-time mature working man, while I’m still a college student who still has a roommate and acts like a teenager”

“He really said that?” Sometimes Sam couldn’t believe Kurt. He had the most amazing guy in front of his nose and he was unable to see it just because he didn’t always act to his posh standards.

“Yeah. But that’s hardly my fault, right?” Blaine asked, and Sam felt like he was begging to be understood. “I mean, is it my fault that I’m a bit younger than he is and still in college? I can’t do anything about it”

“Of course not” Sam tried to comfort him, his fingers gently untangling Blaine’s gelled curls.

“Maybe I didn’t try hard enough. Maybe if I tried harder to adjust to his lifestyle, to share more of his tastes…” Blaine offered, and it was the resignation on his voice that angered Sam the most.

“No, I’m sorry, Blaine, but I’m not letting you” Sam announced in a firm voice, wanting to make himself clear.

“Letting me what?”

“Changing yourself for him, or for anybody else for that matter”

“But if that’s what’s keeping us apart…” Blaine started again, but Sam interrupted him once again. He didn’t want to be so hard while Blaine was feeling so vulnerable, but he needed him to understand how wicked that was.

“So what, you have to change your essence just because you and him have different conceptions about fun? I don’t see him trying to meet you in the middle, he just wants you to adapt yourself to his lifestyle”

“But if there is a chance for me to make him change his mind…”

“Not at this cost, B. You’re better than that” Sam softened his tone, his fingers gently massaging Blaine’s scalp again, and silence fell between them for a couple of minutes. Sam hoped Blaine wasn’t angry, but he knew the shorter boy always expected him to be honest.

“Sam, can I ask you a question?” Blaine asked after a while, and Sam was relieved his tone didn’t sound annoyed, but understanding.

“Of course”

“You don’t want me to be with Kurt, right?” Blaine asked suddenly, making Sam wince at his abruptness.

Sam sighed again, taking a moment to think before answering. He wanted to be honest with Blaine –he had never lied to him before and he wasn’t planning on starting now–, but he couldn’t tell him the whole truth. It was true that Sam had never really liked the relationship Kurt and Blaine had had for so long. He liked Kurt alright, individually, but he didn’t think it was the right person for Blaine. And that didn’t have anything to do with the fact he had been having feelings for the curly-haired boy himself for some time. He knew Blaine loved Kurt and Sam had never, ever, tried to sabotage their relationship, only wanting for Blaine to be happy even if it was next to another man. But when said man hurt him like that… Sam couldn’t just watch Blaine’s heart being broken and do nothing about it.

 “Blaine, I hope you forgive me for saying this, but… I’m sorry you got hurt, obviously, but… I’m kind of glad Kurt is out of the picture”

“What? Why would you say that?” Blaine asked, and Sam could tell it was not the answer he had been hoping for.

“Because… Kurt doesn’t deserve you” Sam explained, not sure how it was going to sound. “He’s never appreciated all the greatness that you are, and I hate it that he makes you feel bad about it. You’re awesome, Blaine. You’re the most amazing person I’ve ever met, and you deserve to be worshipped”

“But Kurt used to”

“No, he didn’t” Sam denied, having been a direct witness of that relationship all through the years. “Maybe at first, but not for a long time. At least not as you deserve”

Again the silence surrounded them for quite a while, Sam’s caressing on the back of Blaine’s hair the only motion in the room. He could see Blaine was not angry, or he would have jumped from his embrace by then. He hoped Blaine would be thinking over everything Sam had tried to make him understand, and would see that as painful as it was, their break-up would be a good thing in the long run.

“I wish I could find someone like you, Sam” Blaine confessed, breaking the silence all of a sudden and snuggling even closer to Sam. The arm he had around Sam’s waist strengthened his grip affectionally and he hid his face in Sam’s neck as sleep starting claiming him, exhausted and emotionally spent, oblivious to what his words and actions were doing to his best friend’s heart.

“Yeah” Sam answered in a slight bitter whisper, and he waited until he was sure that Blaine was asleep before he planted a soft kiss on Blaine’s forehead, hoping that maybe someday it would be the right time and place to show Blaine how perfect they were for each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what did you think? Let me know if you think it's worth it to continue with it ;)


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, thanks everyone for the wonderful reception this story got! It inspired me so much I got to write another chapter. I can't promise to keep this rhythm, though!
> 
> Enjoy!

A couple of hours before dawn, Blaine woke up, a little disoriented and quite hot. He was surprised he was still in his clothes from the night before, and the warm chest underneath him plus the blanket covering them was nearly suffocating him.

But then everything came back to his head in a rush. The break up, his broken heart, Kurt’s words that he still didn’t understand… And Sam. Sam who had immediately rushed to him as soon as he had arrived home. Sam who had refused to leave him alone even when he had asked him. Who had patiently listened to every word he had to say, and even dried a few tears with his own thumbs. Who had welcomed him in his warm embrace and comforted him, caressing his hair as if he was the most especial being in the world. Who had missed his supper just so he wouldn’t disturb Blaine’s sleep and had fallen asleep with him, only taking the time to throw a blanket over them in case they got cold.

Blaine felt a little confused with the security he felt in Sam’s arms. It was not like he had never had Sam’s arms around him before; they had always been very physical with each other and hugs and warm embraces were nothing out of the ordinary for them. Even cuddling was quite common, and they had always felt very comfortable with it. But cuddling in their sleep? Fall asleep in each other’s arms? That was confusing, to say the least. Blaine knew it had not been something intentional: Sam had been comforting him and then they had fallen asleep like that. But for a second, for a blissful and happy second, Blaine imagined and wished that Sam was holding him just because he meant it. And then everything would be easy and beautiful and special and… and everything it hadn’t been with Kurt for a long time.

Just the reminder that Kurt had broken up with him was enough to send him over the edge of tears again. He could not believe it, he couldn’t conceive his boyfriend of almost six years putting an end to their love just like that. Six years. All of his adult life and more. An strange vertigo invaded him at the thought of suddenly being alone. Who was Blaine without Kurt? Who was he as an individual? He was so scared to find out…

All of a sudden the blanket and Sam’s arms became a little too much. Blaine felt as if he was suffocating, as if he couldn’t breathe, and he extricated himself from the blond’s embrace and turned his body around, sliding to the other side of the bed to try and regain his breath. His heart was beating too quickly, and Blaine knew he was on the verge of a panic attack.

But Sam, sweet Sam, seemed to feel his anxiety even in his sleep –or maybe he was just this snuggly in bed, Blaine didn’t know–, and only a couple of minutes after Blaine disappeared from his arms, his broad frame searched for him again and before he knew, Sam was spooning him, his arms closing around Blaine’s smaller body and his warm breath tickling on the back of his neck. Even in his sleep, Sam seemed to be as fierce and constant at protecting him as awake.

Blaine willed himself to breathe deeply and relax, one of his arms moving up and down Sam’s arm gratefully. Yeah, okay, he still had to find himself and learn how to be on his own. But he was not alone: Sam was with him. Sam would be with him in every step of the way, he knew that much. He would make it. They would make it together.

When his heart rate returned to normal, and he was able to breathe without having to think about it, Blaine closed his eyes again, feeling calm and protected. Whatever was to happen, he’d deal with it tomorrow. Right now, he only wanted to sleep in Sam’s arms a little longer.

**********

Some hours later, it took a couple of minutes for Sam to understand why he was awakening in Blaine’s bed. Only a look down his body shattered his hopes that something had happened between them last night, he though with a mischievous yet longing smile, as he was fully dressed. Then he remembered everything, and he quickly got up, in search of his best friend to see how he was fairing.

He didn’t have to wonder for long where he was, as he heard some noises going on the kitchen. Well, at least Blaine was up and doing stuff, that was a good sign.

“Morning” Sam’s sleep-rough voice filled the kitchen, making Blaine turn around an offer a smile at him, though it didn’t lit up his whole face as it usually did.

“Morning, Sam. I wanted to thank you about last night, I’m sorry I fell asleep on you just like that, it must have been pretty uncomfortable for you to sleep like that and…” Blaine was talking a mile a minute, like he usually did when he felt nervous or awkward, his face full of guilt and a hint of embarrassment that was enough to elicit an amused grin out of Sam as he sat down on one of the kitchen chairs.

“Hey, B, slow down, I just woke up and you’re making me dizzy” Sam joked, trying to play down the importance of the night before so Blaine didn’t need to feel uncomfortable.

“Sorry” Blaine answered with an embarrassed smile. “I just wanted you to know I appreciate it… So if you’re not going to take my words as a thank you, the least you can do is eat the breakfast I just made for you”

“Pancakes?” Sam asked, suddenly looking as a hopeful three-year-old, making Blaine chuckle.

“Obviously” Blaine answered, getting them out of the pan to put them on a plate, and the plate on the table, in front of his friend.

“I love your pancakes”

“I know. That’s why I made it” Blaine said, offering Sam some cutlery before sitting down in front of him.

“Thanks, man” Sam answered with a mouth full of pancakes, but Blaine was so happy to see his friend appreciated his effort that he found it far from gross _–more like adorable_. “You’re not eating? Don’t tell me you made them just for me”

“I’m… not hungry” Blaine answered evasively.

“Blaine…” Sam started, but Blaine gently interrupted him.

“Sam, I know what you’re going to say, that I have to eat and take care of myself and all that, but don’t worry, it’s just a meal, okay? I’m not going to die from skipping a meal”

“You didn’t have supper last night either” Sam pointedly reminded him.

“Okay, two. But still… I just can’t eat anything right now” Blaine answered, silently imploring Sam to let it go for now _–and how could Sam deny him anything with those puppy eyes?_

“Alright, I’m letting you get away with it… for now. But if you refuse to have lunch with me later you and I are going to have a talk, young man” Sam joked, deepening his voice to sound like a scolding parent, happy to elicit another smile from his gloomy friend.

“I promise…

“Good”

“…to try” Blaine finished with some mischievousness.

“Oh no. You’re going to eat later even if I have to get the food into you with a funnel. I can’t have you getting sick on me, can I?”

“Thank you, Sammy”

“Wow, so I threaten you and I still get to be thanked? You’re not real, man” Sam joked, not wanting for Blaine to feel like he was in debt with him for anything, but Blaine wasn’t going to let him get away with it.

“No, don’t do that. Thank you for not listening to me yesterday when I told you to leave me alone”

“You know I never listen to you” Sam answered playfully.

“And for staying with me last night”

“I would have left, but I was so tired I couldn’t seem to find the motivation to move”

“Sam, please, stop it!” Blaine said between laughs, playfully punching Sam in the shoulder. “I’m trying to be thankful here!”

“I don’t want you to, Blaine” Sam answered, more seriously this time. “You needed me and I’m happy I could be there for you. I know you would have done the same for me. That’s what besties are for, right?”

“Yeah” Blaine finally admitted, nodding his head in agreement.

“So enough of all this nonsense” Sam announced, wiping his mouth with a napkin as the last bite of pancakes disappeared, “and let’s plan on how to spend the day today. Any suggestions?”

“Well, I thought I was going to spend the day with Kurt, so…” Blaine explained, immediately clouding the light mood of the room from just once second ago. “I guess I’ll just watch some movies or something”

“Mind if I join you? I really feel like having a quiet Saturday, I’m still quite tired from yesterday’s work”

“Sam, don’t even think I can’t see what you’re doing” Blaine warned him.

“What?” Sam pretended to be surprised with an innocent expression.

“Weren’t you supposed to meet some friends today to play some football?”

“Was I?”

“Yeah, you’ve been talking about it all week, you were very excited about it”

“Yeah well, you know what? As I said, I’m exhausted, I’d rather stay home with you” Sam answered, only half lying.

“There’s no need for that, Sam, really” Blaine answered, gratefully patting Sam’s hand across the table. “I’ll be okay here with my movies. Hey, I might even finally start watching _Breaking Bad_. You know, everybody speaks so highly of it…”

“What? You’re really intending to watch it without me? You see, you leave me no choice now, I have to stay”

“But Sam, your friends…” Blaine insisted, although he could see there was no point in it, as Sam was the most stubborn person he knew –of course he also knew that’s exactly what Sam would say about him.

“Blaine, really, I can play any other week, it’s not like there won’t be any more chances. But today the only friend I care about is you. So just humor me on this, okay?”

“Okay” Blaine finally relented. “You’re the best, you know?”

“I know, don’t worry” Sam answered as he got up to have a shower and change his clothes, not before turning around for a second to wink at Blaine and let him know he was just kidding.

**********

“Oh my God, Pinkman, really?” Sam yelled at the television, deeply engrossed in the second _Breaking Bad_ episode they were seeing. “How can he be so stupid?”

“Leave the poor guy alone” Blaine answered with a chuckle. “He’s doing his best. It’s not his fault the acid melted the bath tub”

“How is this not his fault?” Sam almost yelled. “Walt warned him he needed a very specific plastic container for it! I tell you, this guy is going to cost a lot of trouble”

Blaine half smiled at Sam’s passionate explanation. If Sam was something, that was passionate. He never did anything halfway, and it was the trait Blaine loved the most about his best friend.

This time Sam was maybe exaggerating a bit just to distract him, Blaine knew that much. He hadn’t left him for a second all morning: even as Blaine did some essays he needed for College for next week, Sam had sat next to him to read a comic Blaine was sure he had already read a thousand times before. And then Blaine had cried for a while and Sam had listened to him and embraced him until he stopped. And then Sam had put on some music and grabbed Blaine’s hands to get him to dance with him before he couldn’t even think to say no. And then they had made lunch together –and Sam had watched him like a hawk to make sure he kept his promise to eat– and now there they were, curled together in the sofa, starting to watch _Breaking Bad_.

They didn’t know how they always ended invading each other’s space like that, but they had managed a position in which Blaine’s head and upper body were resting against Sam’s, but Sam had his legs on tops of Blaine’s. Blaine knew it was not that common for two friends to be that comfortable in each other’s arms, but he was really glad he had that with Sam. Before they got to really know each other on their senior year at high school, he would have never imagined having a friend like Sam. So funny and so sweet at the same time. So understanding and caring. He was really lucky to have him. If only Kurt had been a little more like him…

Sam must have felt the change in his state –didn’t he always?– because he immediately put his arm around Blaine’s shoulder and squeezed him strongly to him.

“Hey, no, I seem to remember I forbid you to feel sad again for the rest of the day. You can feel sad again tomorrow if you like, but today is off limits”

“Gee, thanks, man” Blaine chuckled and playfully hit his friend in the chest, but he let himself be engulfed in Sam’s embrace, who switched his position on the sofa until they were both lying on it in spite of how narrow it was.

“You know I’m here for you, right?” Sam said, this time more seriously, while he paused the show to give his friend his whole attention.

“Of course I know, Sam” Blaine answered, tuckering his head under Sam’s chin so he didn’t have to see his tears. “You’re the only thing keeping me afloat”

“Well, then I’ll keep holding you above the water until you learn how to swim again” Sam answered, holding him strongly against his chest when Blaine finally started sobbing again.

They remained like that for a while, in silence, strongly clutching to each other, and only when Blaine had no more tears left, Sam grabbed the remote again and unpaused the episode, which they continued watching still in their embrace until it was over.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's a new chapter! I'm sorry it took me this long to update, but it's such a long chapter (very, very long!) that you'll have to forgive me. Enjoy!

Almost two weeks later, Sam’s hopes that Blaine would be gradually getting over his break up with Kurt were dashed, and he partially blamed himself for not knowing how to help. After that first weekend they had spent together quietly at home, with a lot of tears and need of comfort, Blaine had submerged in a tone of work, keeping himself busy from sun up until the late hours of the night. Classes at NYADA, extra shifts at the music shop he worked on, homework, work-outs… At first, Sam hadn’t thought twice about it –after all, that was Blaine, he was hyperactive enough at the best of times– but now he could see Blaine was only keeping himself busy so he didn’t have time for anything else like, for example, thinking or crying.

Sam didn’t know how Blaine could cope with everything. Mind, he didn’t do half the things Blaine was doing these days and at the end of the day he could hardly put one foot in front of the other. Blaine got up so early in the morning lately to run that Sam was sure he was not even sleeping enough. Or at all, because sometimes he could hear him wandering around the house at the craziest hours. Nor was he eating enough, judging by the weight he seemed to be losing. At first, Sam had assumed it had something to do with all the extra exercise, but now he could see it was probably due to lack of proper nourishment.

Sam sighed as he went to sit on the sofa to watch some TV. He had already had dinner –making sure to leave Blaine some cooked food he was sure the shorter boy was not going to touch– and washed the dishes and Blaine had yet to come. He knew it was ridiculous, as they lived together, but he missed Blaine. He felt like he hadn’t seen him for months.

“Hi, Sam” Blaine greeted him as he came through the door of the apartment.

“Hi, bro” Sam answered, giving him a smile he didn’t really feel. “I was worried you had forgotten where you live”

“I know it’s late, but Jonah needed someone to help him with the inventory taking, so…”

“And does it always have to be you?” Sam asked, trying not to sound too accusatory.

“The extra money is good” Blaine answered dismissively as he sat down to the living room table and got some papers out of his bag.

“Dude, if you need money…”

“No, Sam, thanks. I don’t need it for anything right now, it just feels good to be able to save some, that’s all”

“Do you have homework?” Sam asked as he noticed Blaine spreading some papers across the table behind him. “Do you want me to switch the TV off?”

“Oh no, Sam, there’s no need for that, I don’t mind it” Blaine answered gratefully. “And if I do, I can just go to my room”

“No, I’d rather you stay here with me for a bit” Sam answered good-naturally, hoping that didn’t sound too clingy.

Blaine only answered with a small smile before he concentrated into his work. He really looked spent to Sam, but somehow he was still functioning. Sam didn’t want to interrupt, but he was so frustrated by their lack of any interaction between them lately that he didn’t seem to be able to stop chatting.

“You know, Tina left a message on the answering machine”

“Did she? What did she want?” Blaine asked politely, though he didn’t raise his eyes from his work.

“What do you think? To see you, obviously, given that you haven’t spoken to her in like forever” If Blaine didn’t react to him, maybe he would do to Tina, who Sam knew Blaine loved like a sister.

“That’s not true, I texted her the other day” Blain protested.

“When?” Sam pressed, even though he could see he was frustrating his friend.

“I don’t know, some day last week, I think”

“No wonder she sounded angry at you”

“I’ve just haven’t had the time, Sam, you can see how busy I am” Blaine retorted, finally raising his face to look at his friend, desperate to make him understand.

“Yeah. I can see that, and I also see it can’t be healthy” Sam answered calmly, not wanting to start a fight as it was the last thing Blaine needed. “Why don’t you leave that for today and sit here with me for a while so we can watch another _Breaking Bad_ episode? It’s been days, man, I’m dying to know what happens next”

“You can watch them without me, man” Blaine answered as a peace offer, feeling guilty about neglecting his best friend. “I’m not going to be mad”

“But we started to watch it together! It wouldn’t feel right”

“I know, Sam, but I can’t, I have to finish these essays” the curly-haired boy answered, once again turning into his work.

“Dude, you’ve been working non-stop for days” Sam insisted.

“I know, I’m sorry, I know you miss _Breaking Bad_ ”

“No, Blaine, I miss _you_ ” Sam replied before he could even stop himself.

“I’m right here, Sam” Blaine answered, looking intently at Sam’s eyes for a second before starting to work again.

“It doesn’t feel like it, though” Sam whispered a little too bitterly, and Blaine pretended not to hear it.

The silence, only broken by the low volume of the TV, fell upon them, and it wasn’t until fifteen minutes later, when Sam turned around to comment on how stupid but addicting that reality show about buying wedding dresses was, that he discovered Blaine had fallen asleep with his head on the table.

Sighing sadly, Sam turned off the TV and moved to wake up his friend. He rested his hand on Blaine’s shoulder, resisting the urge of running his fingers through that hair Sam loved so much, and gently shook him.

“Hey, Blainey, time to go to bed” he whispered playfully.

“I’m tired” Blaine complained in a childish tone, still not moving an inch.

“I know, that’s why I want you to go to bed, come on” Sam insisted, grabbing Blaine under his armpits to lift him to his feet.

“I’ve got to finish my essays” Blaine complained with a pout, but he let himself be manhandled by Sam’s arms around his waist that were moving him to his room.

“You can’t do that with your eyes closed anyway” Sam reasoned with him while he carefully left Blaine sitting on his bed and kneeled to silently remove his shoes for him.

“I’m so exhausted, Sam” Blaine suddenly confessed, and Sam was sad to see a tear escaping his closed eyelids and rolling down his cheek.

“You need to stop this, Blaine” Sam told him, lifting Blaine’s chin with his fingers to make him look at him. “You’re not fixing anything by killing yourself from exhaustion”

“I don’t know how to do it” Blaine replied so sadly that it broke Sam’s heart to hear it.

“We’ll find a way” Sam promised him as he lifted the covers and helped Blaine lie down under them. “Get some sleep now”

“Ok” Blaine answered, already more asleep than awake, and this time Sam allowed himself the luxury of caressing the softness of Blaine’s hair and tightly tucked him in.

“Good night, B” He whispered to his already asleep friend before he switched the lights of the room off and left the door slightly ajar in case Blaine needed him through the night.

**********

“Blaine?” Sam whispered, not wanting to startle his friend awake in case he was asleep. When he got no answer, he approached him and gently shook his shoulder. “Hey, B”

The apartment had been so silent when Sam woke up that he assumed Blaine must still be running outside. Great, so he was now running even for a longer time, Sam thought, obviously upset that their little conversation from the night before had had so little impact on his friend. But when he passed by Blaine’s room on his way out –the door still ajar like Sam had left it the night before–, he was surprised to see Blaine was still in bed. He must have been really exhausted then.

“Mmmm” Blaine answered at Sam’s annoying pocking on his side, not even bothering to open his eyes.

“Shouldn’t you be up and about by now? You’re going to be late for class. I’m already leaving for work”

“I’m not going to class today” Blaine answered, his voice still slurred from sleep.

“Why? Are you ill?” Sam asked, protective instincts immediately kicking in, as his hand moved on his own accord to Blaine’s forehead to check his temperature. “You don’t seem to have a fever”

“I’m just so tired, Sam” Blaine answered, turning around to give his back to Sam to make him understand he didn’t want to discuss it.

“You didn’t sleep much, did you?” Sam asked as he sat down on the edge of the bed, having noticed the bags under Blaine’s eyes.

“I just need to stop for a minute, Sam” Blaine pleaded for his friend to understand, turning around again so he was lying on his back. “I can’t go on”

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone for today because I know how terribly busy and tired you’ve been lately. But only today, okay? I don’t want you to go from killing yourself with work to spend the days away on bed”

“Thank you, Sammy. You’re the best”

“You won’t be saying that tomorrow morning if I have to drag you out of bed, ‘cause you know I will. I’m leaving now, do you need anything?” Sam offered, lightly resting his hand on Blaine’s thigh. “I could call Tina, maybe she will be free and can keep you some company”

“No, I already texted her last night and she said she was busy. But hey, stop worrying! Nothing is wrong with me that some sleep won’t cure”

“Okay, I’ll leave you to your beauty sleep then” Sam joked, and before he got up he playfully ruffled Blaine’s hair, chuckling at the groan he elicited from his friend. “Be sure to have a lot of rest. And eat!”

“Yes, mum” Blaine chuckled before snuggling again under the covers when Sam turned to leave.

“Blaine?” Sam asked from the doorway, and the worry in his voice was enough to make Blaine get his head out of his blankets nest to look at him.

“Yeah?”

“Are you going to be fine here on your own all day?” Sam asked with a worried tone.

“Yeah, Sammy, I’ll be okay. I’ll probably sleep the day off, if someone would just let me…” Blaine joked, feeling guilty about the worry he was causing his best friend.

“Right, I get it, I’m off” Sam chuckled and turned around, but Blaine’s voice stopped him again.

“Sam?”

“Mmm?” Sam answered, turning around once more.

“Thank you for caring about me” Blaine answered in all honesty.

“Anytime, dude”

**********

Sam felt a little guilty that he was leaving his work almost two hours earlier than usual, but he immediately shrugged that feeling off his head: there were a lot of times that he stayed longer than he should, and the children’s book he was illustrating at the moment was almost finished, so it was more than compensated. And even if not, Blaine was more important than that, and he hadn’t felt comfortable leaving the apartment that morning knowing his friend was going to be alone all day. He would go home early, he would make sure that Blaine ate something, they would talk and he would make sure Blaine would start taking care of himself, even if he had to force him.

He was so abstracted in his own thoughts as he walked down the street that he almost ran into the person who was coming to him, though he luckily stopped in time.

“Tina!” he greeted her happily, bending over to kiss her cheek.

“Hey, Sam, what a coincidence!” she answered, happy to see him. “What are you doing out of the office at this time? Shouldn’t you be at work?”

“Yeah, but I got off a little early today. You know, I didn’t want to leave Blaine alone all day…” Sam explained, grabbing her arm to walk alongside the girl.

“Why? What’s wrong with him, is he sick?” Tina was immediately worried.

“No, just exhausted, I think. That’s why he decided to spend a quiet day at home, to regain his strength. Pity you were busy today and couldn’t keep him some company”

“Busy? I’m not busy at all, Sam” Tina answered, completely oblivious to what Sam was talking about. “I’ve been killing time the whole day until Mike’s done with his rehearsals”

“Wait” Sam stopped their walking, completely confused. “Did you speak to Blaine last night?”

“No, I didn’t. I mean, I called him a couple of times but I couldn’t reach him. He only sent me a text later to say sorry and that he would call me back soon. Why, Sam? What’s happening?”

“He lied to me, that’s what’s happening” Sam mumbled, clearly annoyed.

“What do you mean?” Tina couldn’t understand anything, but she didn’t like Sam’s expression at all.

“He told me you weren’t available today so I wouldn’t call you to come and visit him”

“But why? Did I do something wrong? Is he angry at me for anything?”

“No, Tina, of course not” Sam tried to reassure her. He wished it was that easy. “This is not about you at all. He just wants to be left alone, I guess”

“Sam, let’s get this straight. The few times I’ve been able to contact him since Kurt broke up with him he told me he was doing well. But how is he, really?”

“He’s a mess, Tina” Sam confessed with a frustrated sigh. “The first weekend he was so sad, and crying and depressed… But at least it’s what was expected of him, I knew what to do then. But after that, he’s just turned into a tornado. He gets up super early to go running, he goes to class, he makes extra shifts at the shop, he goes boxing every day, then at night he has to do all the homework he hasn’t had the time to do at decent hours… He’s barely getting any sleep or eating, he’s even losing weight, I can tell. But he won’t talk about it, he won’t even stop for a minute so I can talk to him”

“I knew he was not as okay as he said, but I never imagined it was really that bad” Tina observed, really worried about his friend.

“And the worse thing is I don’t know how to help him. He’s pushing me away and withdrawing into himself more and more. I’m even worried about his physical condition, at the rate he is going. I mean, how long can he keep going without eating or sleeping? I don’t know what to do, Tina” Sam confessed with a shaky voice, his eyes getting glassy with unshed tears. It was the first time he had the chance to talk about it all with someone, and suddenly he felt so lost.

“Hey, hey, Sam, no” Tina comforted him, putting her arms around him in a gentle embrace. “We’ll help him and he’ll be alright. We are the power trio, right? Plus we now have Mike to help too. We’ll get over this, as we always do”

“Ok, I’m sorry” Sam calmed down, grateful for the support, as he dried one stray tear from his cheek.

“Don’t be. You’re a good friend, Sam, a great one. But you should have talked to me about it sooner instead of carrying all this on your own. I would have tried to help” Tina gently reprimanded him.

“I know, but he didn’t want me to, he doesn’t want any help, and he is so unstable right now that I didn’t want him to get angry at me too. He needs me, I couldn’t risk it”

“Okay, I understand. But here’s what we’re going to do from now on”

**********

As he entered his apartment, Sam felt a renewed hope now that he could count on Tina’s help. He should have turned to her from the beginning; she loved Blaine as much as he did, after all. Well, maybe not as much, all things considered, but a lot. So she –and Mike– were going to be a lot of help to get Blaine out of the pit he had fallen into.

“Blainey?” Sam asked in a playful tone, hoping to get Blaine on the good side so he could talk to him, as he knocked on his open door. “Are you awake?”

“Yeah. Hi, Sammy” Blaine answered, sticking his head out of the covers to look at his friend.

“You haven’t moved all day at all?” Sam asked, even though he knew the answer to his own question –Blaine was still wearing the same clothes of the day before, after all.

“Well, I went to the bathroom a couple of times” Blaine answered dismissively.

“Did you eat something?” Sam asked, but the guilt that crossed Blaine’s face for a second gave him the answer. “I can see from your face you didn’t, then”

“No, Sam, I haven’t eaten and I haven’t moved from the bed, I’m a terrible person”

Sam chose to ignore Blaine’s impertinent remark and moved to sit down against the headboard of the bed, next to his friend.

“You’re not going to believe who I ran into today” Sam tried to start a conversation again.

“Who?” Blaine asked for Sam’s benefit, not really that interested in what he had to say.

“Tina! And guess what? She wasn’t busy at all! In fact, she looked kind of bored to me, if you ask me”

“Sam…” Blaine started, knowing he had been caught in a lie, but Sam wouldn’t let him finish.

“Why did you lie to me, Blaine?”

“Because I knew you would have called her even if I told you not to, and I just wanted to be alone. In fact, I still want to be left alone, so if you don’t mind…”

“Okay, I can see you’re in a bad mood and I respect that, I’ll leave you alone once I get some food into you”

“I don’t want any food, I just want to sleep” Blaine answered, turning his back to his friend once again”

“You spent all day in bed, I think you’ve had enough of that”

“That’s not for you to decide”

“Well, someone has to take care of you, since you won’t do it yourself” Sam responded in annoyance as he took the covers and tried to take the covers off Blaine. He could see that was a wrong move immediately, as Blaine sat up in anger.

“Will you just leave me alone once and for all, Sam? Fuck, you’re not my mother!” he almost shouted at him.

Sam was taken aback by Blaine’s outburst. His best friend hardly ever swore, and he surely had never spoken to him in less than a friendly tone, even if they argued (which didn’t happen very often). But by the expression on Blaine’s face at the moment, he could see he was even more surprised about it than Sam himself.

“I’m sorry, Blaine, I only want to help” Sam apologized, and it was the last straw to make Blaine’s stance crumble.

“I know, Sam. I’m sorry, I didn’t have any right to take my frustrations on you. Please, forgive me” he begged, already regretting his outburst at his sweet and caring friend.

“It’s okay, Blaine”

“No, it’s not” Blaine denied, sliding on his bed to sit against the headboard, close to Sam without really touching him. “You’re only worrying about me, wanting to help me and look how I treat you”

“Hey, everyone is entitled to have a bad day, B. No offense taken, really” Sam answered in a comforting tone.

“Why are you taking all this shit from me? Why do you care so much?” Blaine asked after a minute of silence.

“Blaine, you’re my best friend, of course I care”

“Kurt was supposed to be my soulmate, and he doesn’t” Blaine answered, his eyes glassy but not really crying, and Sam was glad that Blaine seemed to be opening up to him, so he took his chance.

“What’s that about Kurt? What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“I have been calling and texting him for a week now to see how he’s doing and not once has he answered”

“He hasn’t, has he?” Sam asked, nodding knowingly. He knew Kurt; he should have guessed.

“He hasn’t been able to pick up his phone once to see how I’m doing!” Blaine continued, once he had started talking not being able to stop. “How can he care so little about me after all this time? Am I really so insignificant?”

“No, Blaine, please. No” Sam begged him to understand, his heart going to him. Blaine was apparently a very confident person, but Sam knew him inside out, and he was aware of how low his self-steem could get sometimes. He put his arm around Blaine’s shoulders and squeezed him to his side. “You can’t really think that”

“What do you want me to think? The person I’ve loved for almost six years, and who was supposed to love me back, doesn’t think I’m good enough for him. What if he’s right? I don’t have anything to offer”

 _I_ _wish you could see yourself with my eyes_ , Sam thought, but he knew it was not the right time to say something like that, not when Blaine was obviously so screwed up. The last thing Sam wanted was to confuse him even further.

“Is that why you have been working non-stop?” Sam asked, suddenly everything making sense to him.

“I need to be a bigger person” Blaine confessed, his voice shaking with sorrow. “I need to work harder, to make more money, to be in a better shape… Anything to not feel so small”

Sam, feeling Blaine’s pain in his own heart, embraced him very tightly as Blaine started sobbing.

“But I can’t even do that, Sam. I’m so tired…”

“You’re big, Blaine. You’re like the biggest star there is, and the most amazing person I know, and I swear to you I’m never going to forgive Kurt for making you feel like this”

“If he would just call me…” Blaine said, wishfully.

“If he did would you… would you want to go back to him?” Sam asked, not really sure he wanted to know the answer.

“I don’t know. But it’s not about that. I’d just like to feel all these years haven’t been in vain”

Sam tried not to sigh too loudly in relief. Blaine was not thinking about getting back together with Kurt –was it possible that, under all that pain, there was a little pride that didn’t want to forgive Kurt for hurting him so much?–. He just wanted to feel like he had mattered.

“I get it, Blaine. But Kurt is being an idiot. Don’t let that destroy you, you deserve much better than that. It’s him who’s in the wrong, not you”

“I don’t want to be like this. Can you… help me, Sam?” Blaine asked, looking incredibly vulnerable.

“Oh, Blaine. I was so waiting for you to say that” Sam answered, tightening his hold around Blaine’s upper body, relieved he seemed to be cracking his best friend’s protective armor. “From now on, we’ll forget about Kurt, we’ll find a way to make it all better again and we will live happily ever after, ok?” Sam joked, but he made sure to speak about “we” instead of “you” to make Blaine understand that he was going to be there for him at all times.

“And how do we do that?” Blaine asked, breaking Sam’s embrace but staying curled into his side with the blond’s arm around him, and Sam was hopeful that at least Blaine wanted to make a change.

“Ok, for starters? This stops today” Sam stated in a confident way.

“What?”

“You, sinking down like this. You can let all this sadness and tears out today because starting tomorrow we’re only going up. We’ll make a plan to get you well again, okay? Tina will help” Sam explained, quite determined.

“Sam…” Blaine tried to speak, but Sam was not about to stop now that he had been able to get Blaine to listen.

“And I’m naming myself the director of the plan, so I’m in charge and you’ve got to obey, okay? Or Tina, in my absence”

“Seems like you have it all figured out” Blaine chuckled, and to Sam it sounded like celestial music.

“I’m sorry, but Tina, Mike and me are about to become your shadows. You can get your own time alone when you need it, of course, but for the rest of your free time, which of course will be increasing with regard to the last two weeks, you’ll have to put up with us. And with that, I don’t mean we’ll be looking at you while you work out or do homework you should have done instead of the extra shifts at the shop… We mean doing activities together, like having a walk, or playing videogames or watching a movie or whatever”

“But Sam, I can’t put everyone’s life on hold just like that”

“You’re not doing it, we offered. And it’s not like we’re just making a big sacrifice: we just want to spend some quality time with our friend. Is that such a terrible thing?” Sam tried to reason with his best friend.

“Of course not” Blaine admitted with a small smile.

“Good, because I need my partner in crime back. I mean, last night I thought I heard the _Avengers_ DVD crying because it hasn’t been used in two weeks”

“You’re such an idiot” Blain laughed.

“And you know Tina hasn’t got a job yet, so I think you two will be doing a favor to each other getting to hang out more often”

“Ok, I think that’s great” Blaine answered, surprised at himself that he was getting kind of excited at the whole plan. “Anything else?”

“Of course, we are just getting started” Sam only half joked. “This running thing… What about doing it half the time you’re doing it now so you don’t have to get up so early?”

“I can do that. I’m pretty tired, anyway” Blaine confessed with an embarrassed smile.

“And the boxing… Only a couple of days a week”

“Actually… I think I should stop doing that. It’s fine to do it every once in a while, but if I want to make it as a musician, I’ve got to take better care of my hands”

“I think it’s a great idea. Like stopping with all those extra shifts at the shop. You don’t need the money right now and you need to spend that time in what’s really important, and that’s your studies. You’re almost finished with your degree, and you have to make the final effort if you want to be famous and rich and lift me out of poverty”

“Yeah, that’s why I’m studying at NYADA, Sam, to make _you_ rich”

“So no more skipping classes”

“No”

“And I’ll keep watch on how much you eat”

“Ok”

“And you’ve got to call Cooper”

“What? No, Sam, he must be busy, I don’t want to be a burden to him too”

“Does he even know about… this yet?” Sam asked, not wanting to pronounce Kurt’s name again so as not to elicit any negative reactions, now they were on the right track.

“No” Blaine confessed.

“Well, either you call him or I will. He’s your big brother and he’s very protective of you, he’ll be angry if he finds out from someone other than you. At first he’ll get angry at you, and then at me for not making you tell him. And you don’t want me to be under your brother’s wrath, right?”

“No” Blaine answered with a chuckle. “I’ll call him and talk to him about it all. Anything else?”

“Just one more thing: don’t push me away” Sam pleaded to his best friend, more seriously this time.

“I wasn’t doing it, Sam”

“Yes, you were, even if you didn’t realize it. You’re still going to have bad times, and I need to know you’ll come to me when that happens. I need to be able to help you… or at least, be there for you”

“Ok, Sam. I won’t push you away” Blaine promised. “And I’m so sorry I did”

“The important thing now is: do you think we can make it?”

“Well, I’m surely willing to try. It gives me hope, you know? To know that all of you want to help me so badly”

“You’re not as insignificant as you may think, Blaine. It looks like you’ve touched quite a few people on your way” Sam told him, once again squeezing him firmly against his side.

“Thank you, Sammy. You’re the best friend I could possibly have” Blaine answered in all honesty.

“Let’s see if you still think the same when I start pestering you tomorrow with all of this. Oh, and Tina is angry at you, by the way”

“Why?”

“For using her to lie to me. And for not calling her when it’s obvious you need her, according to her. I think it’s just her worries about you talking, though”

“I’ll call her tomorrow”

“No need. You’re hanging out with her for a coffee. She asked me to warn you she’s not taking ‘no’ for an answer, and that she would come to get your sorry ass out of bed herself if she needed to”

“The worst of all is I’m sure she’d do it” Blaine chuckled.

“So you’re getting up tomorrow and you’re having a coffee with Tina as the first step of our getting-better plan, is that understood?” Sam used his most overbearing voice, which elicited another honest grin from the curly-haired boy.

“Yes, I’ll hang out with Tina”

“After classes”

“Of course”

“And then Mike and I will join you both after work and we all will have dinner together, for the sake of old times”

“That’s sounds like fun. I’m in”

“Promise?”

“Pinky promise”

“Can I trust you to keep your promise?”

“I’ve never broken a promise, Sam. At least not to you”

“Ok, you’re right. And now how about another episode of _Breaking Bad_? I’m dying to know what they’re going to do with Krazy 8. You’ve had me waiting for like three months, man”

“Sam, it’s not been even two weeks!”

“Really? That’s how much I’ve missed my best friend then, it felt like a lifetime” Sam rambled as he stood up and took Blaine’s hand to pull him to his feet.

“Alright, let’s go” Blaine answered happily letting himself be driven into the bathroom’s direction.

“But you’re having a shower and changing your clothes first. No offense, man, but you could do with a little soap”

“Are you implying I smell?” Blaine protested in mocking outrage.

“So good you noticed it too, I didn’t want to say anything” Sam joked, already pushing Blaine into the bathroom. “Come on, get going, I’ll put something together for dinner meanwhile”

“Can we just…” Blaine started, but Sam stopped him with a finger pointing at his face.

“Blaine” he warned him. “What did we say about food?”

“I was going to ask if we could just order some pizza” Blaine explained with a wide smile that melted Sam’s heart right in the place.

Sam laughed wholeheartedly at that, and squeezed Blaine’s shoulder one last time.

“Ok, just take that goddam shower, I’ll call right away”

“You spoil me, Evans!” Sam heard Blaine shout from behind the bathroom closed door, and he chuckled as he nodded to himself. Yes, he indeed spoiled his best friend. But anything to get that beautiful smile out of him again. God, how he had missed it!


	4. Chapter 4

Sam loudly yawned as he walked along the corridor, having just gotten up for work the morning after his conversation with Blaine in which they had designed their getting-better plan. He took a peak at Blaine’s open door on his way to the kitchen and was both glad and disappointed Blaine’s bed had already been made and there was no sign of him in the room. Glad because Blaine had left his bed today and gone to class, probably even gone running before that. Disappointed he didn’t get to see him and check out for himself that Blaine was more or less alright.

So it was a really nice surprise when the apartment’s door opened and a smiley Blaine made his way in.

“Oh, great, you’re awake” Blaine acknowledged him. “Good morning, by the way”

“I thought you’d be gone already” Sam pointed out with another yawn, still rubbing his sleepy eyes as he walked to the kitchen after his friend.

“No, I decided to change the order of things. I went out running first and now I’m going to have breakfast before leaving for classes. I thought you would want to actually see me having breakfast, so…” Blaine didn’t feel the need to continue at Sam’s little smile of approval. “I even bought some bagels for the both of us on my way back. Do you want some?”

“Of course” Sam answered, patting Blaine’s shoulder in appreciation.

Sam was surprised at how well Blaine had reacted to their whole getting-better plan; the poor guy must have been desperate for guiding in what do to. And Sam was glad about this new breakfast arrangement: not only he got to check that Blaine actually had some nourishment into him to get him through the day, but he also got to spend even more time with his best friend. Things were surely looking brighter today!

“Oh my God, these are delicious!” Sam exclaimed as soon as he gave the first bite. “Where are they from?”

“They’re from the bakery in the corner” Blaine answered with a wide smile, glad to see Sam enjoying the new routine. It was the least he could do for him after Sam had helped him so much. “I can’t believe we have never bought them before, the bakery being as close as it is”

“We should do this every day” Sam answered with his mouth full.

“Every now on then yes, but not every day. We still have to keep in shape, don’t we?” Blaine joked, patting his belly.

“Well, it wouldn’t do you any wrong to gain a few pounds, Blaine” Sam pointed out in all honesty.

“You’ve noticed?” Blaine asked in surprise. He knew he had lost some weight in the last two weeks, but he didn’t think it was so obvious. Maybe it was just Sam, being very observant.

“Of course I noticed. No offense, but you’re a small guy, it’s not as if you can afford to lose a lot of weight. I can almost count your ribs from here” Sam explained, feeling a little bad about being hard to Blaine, but he needed to make a point.

“I know, I’ve lost a bit of weight these past few days” Blaine answered, and Sam was relieved he didn’t seem angry at his observation.

“On purpose?” Sam asked, a little apprehensively. It had been him listening to Blaine last night crying about wanting to be a better person, so maybe in his confused mind he was trying to look better?

“No, I swear” Blaine answered, lifting his hands in front of him in surrender. “But with all the extra exercise and not eating as much as usual…”

“You mean hardly eating”

“Whatever. The point is I was not trying to get skinnier, so don’t worry about that on top of everything else. I feel guilty enough as it is that you had to worry about me at all and watch me as if I was a little kid”

“Don’t, Blaine. You’ve been there for me hundreds of times before, right? I clearly remember a couple of times when we were in reversed positions and you didn’t move an inch from my side. So now it’s my turn. And now, young man, get going or you’re going to be late for class” Sam playfully scolded him, not wanting to get too intense on their first day of the getting-better plan.

“Yes, mom” Blaine laughed and jumped to his feet on the shower’s direction.

Sam wasn’t in such a hurry, as he didn’t need to be in the office until an hour later, so he calmly finished his breakfast as he read the newspaper Blaine had brought with him. Well, not really read it, as his dyslexia made it quite difficult to read letters as small as those, but he usually read the headlines to get an idea of what was going on around the world.

He was still sitting there, with a hot coffee in his hands he had just prepared, when Blaine came out of his room in a rush and stood in front of him.

“So?” Blaine asked, nervously waiting for an answer.

“So?” Sam repeated, oblivious to what Blaine was demanding of him.

“How do I look?” Blaine asked, signaling at himself with his hands.

“You look as handsome as ever, although I don’t understand the question, I’ve seen you wearing that outfit a thousand times before”

“I mean the hair” an exasperated Blaine answered.

“What? You mean you’re going to leave it like that?” Sam asked in total confusion: Blaine was going out and his hair was plastered to his head with gel for probably the first time since he had known him.

“I knew it was a bad idea” Blaine answered in defeat, already turning to go back to the bathroom and gel it.

“No, no, no, I didn’t mean that!” Sam tried to stop him. “It’s just… I wasn’t expecting it. I mean, I think I’ve never seen you even take out the garbage without gelling your hair first. I just thought you hadn’t worked on it yet”

“But does it look good?” Blaine insisted, and waited nervously as Sam inspected him in silence.

“No” Sam answered, and he had to smile at the disappointment he saw in his friends eyes. “It looks awesome”

“Really?” Blaine asked hopefully.

“Of course! You know I’ve always liked your curls, man. But… what’s with the change? I never thought that could happen”

“I just thought a change of look would go well with the whole getting-better plan. Like renewing myself, you know?”

“I think it’s a wonderful idea, bro. And I think you look pretty good in it. In fact, I’ve never understood your obsession with gel, to be honest. You need to take profit of such a cute hair”

“Well, I started gelling it at Dalton, it was kind of mandatory, you know? And then I don’t know, I got used to it and…”

“Kurt liked it” Sam bitterly finished for him, trying to ignore the little wince on Blaine’s face at his bluntness.

“He never told me to gel it, obviously, but I felt he preferred it if I kept my hair all kempt and I wanted to please him. And frankly, it was easier to tame this madness like that, this is going to take a lot of work. But I need a change, so I’m willing to give it a try”

“You just get more and more handsome every day, don’t you?” Sam tried to sound like he was joking, but he noticed it came out more like flirting, and both of them blushed slightly.

“It’s just you, looking kindly at me” Blaine answered with a shy smile.

“Yeah, well, let me know what other people think of this and then we can discuss if it’s just me being biased. You’re so going to rock it today!” Sam predicted as he turned to the newspaper again, trying to hide the blush he was sure he still had on his cheeks.

Blaine beamed at him for a second –what had he done to get such a wonderful friend and roommate?– before he decided it was time to go. He grabbed his jacket and his bag and then stopped for a second behind Sam, who was still sitting in the chair. He put his hands on Sam’s shoulders and bent slightly over him to talk to him.

“You’re the best friend one could hope for, and I’ll never be grateful enough to have you in my life” Blaine confessed in a rush, as if he was afraid of suddenly losing his nerves, and before he literally ran to the door embarrassed over his own rush of emotions, he bent over and placed a kiss on Sam’s cheek. “I’ll see you at Joe’s at seven!” he called from the door and he was gone before Sam could even open his mouth.

Sam remained still like that, sitting on the chair and stupidly rubbing the spot where Blaine’s lips had made contact with his cheek, for a good couple of minutes, a mix of emotions  rumbling around in his head. First of all, he was happy, because he could see Blaine was really trying. Sam was not an idiot: he knew they had a long way to go ahead of them, but at least Blaine had started walking that path so willingly –and Sam suspected he was doing it mostly for him, in appreciation for their friendship.

Sam also felt frustrated that he couldn’t make his feelings for his friend known –he had already assumed they weren’t going to go away a long time ago–. For starters, Blaine had just finished a six-years-long relationship –no, worse, it had been finished for him–, so obviously it was not the right time to do anything about it. Plus, Sam knew it was Kurt Blaine was in love with, not him. But would it really be that crazy to think Blaine could fall for him again? After all, Sam knew the crush Blaine had had for him in high school had been pretty intense. And there was also all the usual flirting and affection between them which was no small thing. And now with Kurt out of the picture… Sam would willingly woo and court Blaine, as ancient as that may sound, as much as it was needed until he fell in love with him as hardly as Sam had fallen for him.

But no, he reminded himself. It was not the right time. Blaine was still painfully heartbroken, and any advance Sam could try would feel like taking advantage of his vulnerability. And Sam would never do anything that could hurt Blaine in any way. Plus he didn’t want to be a rebound. When he and Blaine finally got together, it would be because they were ready for it and their hearts were strong and belonged completely and exclusively to each other.

That reminded Sam that Blaine’s heart was far from being strong right now. Even if he had made quite an act of being on the mend just a while ago, Sam knew it was only Blaine’s desire to please him that had got him up in the morning and would get him through the day, but deep down his pain was just as sharp and fresh than it had been the day before. And if Sam could do something about that, he would do. Because above everything else, Blaine was his best friend and he wanted him to be happy. And he knew there was still something he could do. Or, at least, try.

So with a new resolution in his heart, Sam quickly cleaned up the kitchen and got dressed, hoping he would still have time to do what he had in mind before he made it to work.

**********

Blaine looked at his watch and noticed he had made a good time on his way to NYADA. There were a good ten minutes left until his first class started, so maybe now would be a good time to make that phone call to his brother that he had promised Sam he’d made. He was not looking forward to it –he knew Cooper wouldn’t like hearing about his breakup two weeks later–, but he had promised Sam he would do it, so it had become an obligation.

“Hey, squirt!” Cooper answered almost immediately.

“Don’t call me that” Blaine scolded, though the warmth in his brother’s voice made him feel loved immediately.

“Yeah, like I’m going to change that now” Cooper protested with a chuckle. “How you’re doing, buddy? What’s up?”

“Well…” Blaine hesitated, which didn’t go unnoticed to his big brother.

“Is there something wrong?” Cooper asked, his protective urges immediately kicking in.

“Actually, yes” Blaine sighed, trying to gather the strength he needed to say the next words. “Kurt and I broke up. Well, he broke up with me”

“What? What happened, bud?” Cooper asked, clearly surprised and worried about him.

“I don’t feel like discussing all the details right now, I’ll tell you all about it some other time if you don’t mind, but… let’s say he didn’t love me as much as I thought”

“Are you alright?” Cooper asked after a brief silence.

“I’m working on it” Blaine answered with a humorless laugh.

“Do you need me there? I’ll catch the next flight if you just say so” Cooper offered.

“No, I don’t want you to lose your job. It’s finally Michael Bay, right? _Transformers V_! It’s too big a chance to just let pass!” Blaine answered in complete honesty. As grateful he was at Cooper’s offer and how great it would be to have him near, he couldn’t just let him drop everything for him. He felt guilty enough that Sam and the others were already doing it.

“I know, it really is, but Blaine, you’re my brother. If you need me…”

“Sam is taking care of me. In fact, he’s even worse than you are” Blaine chuckled fondly in spite of himself at thinking about his best friend.

“Yeah, Sam is great, I’ll rest better knowing you’re in good hands. But please, Blaine, if you need me…”

“I’ll let you know, don’t worry” Blaine interrupted him. “Sam made me promise I wouldn’t keep it all to myself anymore”

“Anymore? When did you and Kurt broke up?”

“About two weeks ago” Blaine mumbled embarrassedly.

“And now you tell me” Cooper protested, clearly a bit offended.

“I was… not in the mood for talking, to be honest”

“Still… I would have liked to be informed about it”

“Well, be grateful Sam made me call you, then” Blaine only half-joked.

“You were not going to tell me?”

“I didn’t want you to worry… or to leave everything behind for me. Promise me you won’t”

“I won’t as long as I know you’re okay. I’ll call you everyday to see how you’re doing. In fact, I think I’ll call Sam to really know how you’re doing” Cooper warned him in all seriousness, but it still make Blaine laugh.

“Coop”

“Yeah?”

“Thank you for worrying. It felt good talking to you”

“Anytime, Squirt” Cooper answered in a much softer tone. “You know I love you, right?”

“I love you too”

“And I’ll be heading to New York as soon as the shooting is over” Cooper promised.

“I can’t wait. See you, big bro”

“See you, little bro”

Blaine pressed the red button on the screen of his phone and put it back on his pocket. Call Cooper: check. Another item on his getting-better plan accomplished. And he had to admit it had felt good to talk to his brother and feel how much the older man worried about him. Cooper was the only family he had –he hadn’t counted his parents as family for almost four years now– and it was always nice to feel cared for and protected. Sam was right: even if Kurt didn’t, there were still a lot of people who loved him.

*********

Sam stood at the door of the Vogue.com headquarters, where Kurt had immediately returned to work as soon as he finished his NYADA studies, trying to gather enough confidence to get in. It had seemed like such a good idea back at home, as he got dressed… But now he was here, he wasn’t sure it was his wisest move, or if it was going to be of any use…

However, he had made a decision, and he never backed up on his own decisions, so he finally entered and asked the receptionist to see Kurt Hummel. The nice lady took him to Kurt’s office and announced him, before she smiled at him one last time and left them alone.

“Sam!” Kurt exclaimed in utter surprise. “What are you doing here?”

“I need to talk to you” Sam answered, not moving from his place at the doorway.

“I’m working, Sam. Couldn’t you have called?”

“Yes, I could have, but I figured you wouldn’t have picked it up, like with Blaine, right?” Sam answered, his voice dull of irony.

“I’m guessing you want to talk about him?” Kurt asked with a sigh, getting up to pull Sam in the office and close the door to give them a little bit more of privacy.

“You guess right” Sam answered in the most neutral tone he could master.

“Well, I don’t see why I should give you any explanations about why I broke up with him” Kurt responded quite petulantly, standing in front of him and crossing his arms over his chest.

“I know what I need to know about that to see how much you’ve screwed it up, Kurt” Sam wanted to make it clear he hadn’t come to discuss his reasons for dumping Blaine. “I just hope you don’t have to regret what you lost someday”

“Then… why are you here?” Kurt asked, more confused than before.

“I wanted to ask you to call Blaine and talk to him”

“What for?”

“Because he needs to see these last few years of his life hasn’t been a lie, which is how he feels at the moment” Sam looked clearly annoyed at having to explain something that should have been obvious.

“What do you mean?”

“He’s been trying to contact you for over a week and not once you deigned to answer, what do you want him to think? He’s devastated thinking you’ve never loved him”

“This is ridiculous!” Kurt protested. “And I still don’t see how this has got anything to do with you”

“Because I can’t keep watching him suffering like that!” Sam answered, unconsciously rising his voice a little. “He needs to know that you care! It’s the least you can do after breaking up with him like that and making him believe he was never good enough!”

“I never said that, but Blaine and I are in very different situations right now and…”

“Save it” Sam stopped him. “I don’t want you to hear what you have to say about him. It’s you who never deserved him”

“Excuse me, Sam. You came here to insult me?” It was obvious Kurt was getting all defensive, when he wanted to explain his reasons for doing what he was doing but Sam was not in the mood to listen. “I still don’t know why you are here or why do you care so much about this and…” Suddenly it was Kurt stopping himself when a realization hit him with force. “Oh my God. You’re in love with him” Kurt said, not as much asking as he was making an affirmation.

Sam sighed and bit his lower lip in frustration. That was not how he had expected the conversation to go, but he was not going to deny it. That would feel like betraying Blaine, even if he didn’t know about his feelings, and he was not going to do that.

“I should have known” Kurt continued, not giving Sam time to answer. “Your friendship has always been… weird, and way too close to be normal”

“No, I’ve never acted on my feelings for him. He doesn’t even know” Sam defended himself, even though he didn’t feel the need to do for Kurt. “We just happen to be very good friends, and if you can’t understand a friendship like that, then I really pity you”

“Yeah, whatever” Kurt responded, completely unconvinced. “But let me get this straight. So you are in love with him and you still want me to go back to him so he’s happy? You must really love him, in your own twisted romantic way”

“No, don’t get me wrong. I don’t want you to go back to him” Shit, that would be the last thing Sam wanted, for a million reasons. “I don’t like you for him at all, but that’s not my decision to make. I just want you to speak to him, so he thinks you still care about him even if you don’t want to be with him”

“Why? What good will that do? I broke up with him because our relationship was making both of us unhappy, there’s no reason to prolong it with silly phone calls that would hurt him even further in the long run”

“He can’t understand how a person who was supposed to love him for years can suddenly stop caring, can’t you understand that? And for the record, I don’t either”

“I didn’t ask for your opinion”

“You know what I think? Maybe you never loved him as much as you claimed. Maybe you only liked the idea of having someone who idolized you like he did”

“What the hell do you know?” Kurt seemed quite offended at Sam’s accusation and the fact he doubted his love for Blaine.

“Because I know what it is to love Blaine. And I know it’s not possible to just stop loving him” Sam explained in all honesty, and Kurt was surprised at the intensity of his emotions.

“Look, I’m not giving you any more explanations. If he is as devastated as you say he is, the last thing he needs is me calling him and telling him how much I love him. How is he going to get over me like that? In spite of what you may think, I don’t want to hurt him. But he needs a closure in order to put me behind him. I’ve been with him for almost six years, Sam, I think I know him enough to know what’s best for him” Kurt answered, and it made feel Sam a little better that, even though he was wrong, it didn’t seem like Kurt didn’t care about Blaine’s feelings at all.

“You may have been his partner for six years, but I’ve lived with him every day for a large portion of that time, and I might know him even more than you do. And I tell you you’re hurting him more than you could possibly imagine”

“Do you think this is easy for me? But I’m not going to change my mind for you, Sam. I don’t think speaking to him it’s the right thing for either one of us and I’m not going to do it. And frankly, I don’t know why you’re doing this, now there’s nothing in your path”

Sam’s eyes widened in surprise. Was Kurt giving him his permission to act on Blaine? At least he had made it clear that he was not going to be an obstacle. It was not at all what he had been looking for when he came to Kurt’s office, that’s for sure, but he couldn’t help to feel very confused about it. Especially considering he hadn’t achieved the simplest thing, which was for Kurt to call Blaine.

“Now if you’ll excuse me…” Kurt said, avoiding Sam’s gaze and opening the door for him.

“I never should have come. I knew you could get quite unreasonable, but this… I won’t tell Blaine about this, but just because I don’t want him to hurt any more than he already does, not for you”

“What Blaine or you do from now on doesn’t concern me anymore. Bye, Sam”

“Yeah. Goodbye, Kurt” Sam answered, with a tone that showed how much he hoped he wouldn’t get to see him again.

**********

After a long day at class –in which Blaine had been tempted to screw everything and leave for home so he could wallow in his own misery–, Blaine was waiting by the café he had agreed to meet Tina on. He didn’t know why he had bothered to be there at time; Tina was always late. Blaine knew he was just being grumpy; it was not that he didn’t want to see her. She was like a sister to him and he really believed he had been the happiest of them all when Tina finished her studies at Brown and had come to live at the city with her recently-reacquainted boyfriend Mike, who was already making his way in life as a dancer in Broadway, several months ago. He was ecstatic to have his friend near again; it was just that he knew Tina was going to be angry at him for not talking to her sooner. And an angry Tina was a scary Tina.

Just for once, she wasn’t that late, and Blaine gave her an ice-breaker smile when he saw her. As soon as Tina saw him, though, it was all she could not to run towards him, which made Blaine feel incredibly guilty because she looked as she had been worrying a lot for him. She reached him and immediately put her arms around him in a strong embrace that lingered and made Blaine feel once again that day that he mattered.

“I love you” Tina whispered in his ear, just before she let go of him and all of a sudden clobbered him on the back of his head.

“Ouch! What was that for?” Blaine protested, bringing his hand to the sore spot.

“That’s what you get for completely ignoring me for two weeks!” Tina scolded him, just as he had known she would –he was partially sure the embrace had been only a distraction.

“Not completely, I answered a couple of your texts” Blaine answered in his defense, but he had to take a step back to avoid being hit again. “Ok, ok, I’m sorry!”

“As you should be! Why do I have to hear how miserable you are from Sam? It should have been you talking to me about it!”

“I know, Tina, I’m sorry” Blaine apologized again, more honestly this time.

“You should have trusted me” Tina said in a softer voice, not fuming so much anymore.

“I do trust you, Tina, you know that. You and Sam are like my best friends ever”

“Then?”

“It’s just… I couldn’t talk” Blaine confessed, his eyes getting glassy in spite of himself –God, how he hated when he couldn’t control his emotions– in a way that stopped Tina from admonishing him even further.

“Oh, Blaine, when are you going to learn not to keep everything to yourself?” Tina lamented, hooking her arm with Blaine’s and starting walking towards the café.

“I’m working on it” Blaine promised with a little pout on his lips. “But you won’t be angry at me for long, won’t you?”

“How can I, when you’re giving me those puppy eyes? You know I can’t resist them and you take advantage of it”

“But I still love you, Tey Tey”

“You better. And remind me to compliment you for your new look and your beautiful curls later, when I’m done pretending to be pissed at you”

“I will” Blaine answered with a chuckle.

**********

Tina and Blaine spent a nice hour getting up to date –after all, it had been more than two weeks since the last time they really talked. Tina didn’t let go until Blaine had opened his heart and explained everything about his feelings –man, that girl could be really insistent–, and even if he had had a hard time keeping his tears at bay while he was talking, he felt better after he finished. Tina, who hadn’t opened her mouth from the moment he started talking, just grabbed his hand across the table and squeezed between both of her own and told her once again that she loved him and that everything would be alright. Then she remained in silence for a minute, just holding his hands, letting her words sink in. And then, just like that, she had just changed the topic and started asking Blaine for advice in what kind of curtains would go well in her and Mike’s apartment. And even though the change of topic surprised Blaine at first, he knew Tina and knew that it was not because she didn’t care about him or because she was playing down the importance of his feelings. She was just giving him a rest from the intensity of it –with the implicit promise to be there for him whenever he needed her– and wanting to make him see how much he valued him and his opinions –even in something as silly as some curtains. Sam was right again, after all: Tina loved him too and was going to be there for him unconditionally.

When the time for their dinner with Sam and Mike approached, they left for Joe’s and made all the way there hand in hand without even thinking about it. After his conversations with Sam in the morning, then Cooper at the phone and Tina later, Blaine felt lighter than he had since Kurt had broken up with him. So the prospect of spending the evening with two of these wonderful people plus Mike was more than exciting.

When they arrived there, both Mike and Sam were already waiting at the door, having just gotten there themselves, and they greeted them enthusiastically.

“Hey, Blaine!” Mike said as he gave him a quick hug. “Long time no see!”

“I know, Mike, I’m sorry but…” Blaine tried to explain himself as he returned the hug, but Mike wouldn’t let him.

“Don’t apologize, I’m sure Tina reprimanded you enough for the both of us”

“You’re not that far from the truth” Blaine answered, only half joking and moved to greet Sam too.

He had intended to give a quick hug to Sam too, just like he had done with Mike, but he was surprised when Sam squeezed him strongly to his chest and buried his face in Blaine’s neck, holding on for quite longer than expected. Not that Blaine didn’t like it –there was no safer place in the world for him than in Sam’s arms–, but he was a bit worried by the intensity of it.

“Everything okay, Sam?” Blaine whispered in Sam’s ear, not breaking the embrace as he felt that Sam needed it somehow, when he noticed that Tina and Mike were lost in their own world, not paying attention to them. “Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah” Sam answered, with a final pat on Blaine’s back before letting go of him. “I just… I’m happy to see you”

“Well, I’m happy to see you too, Sammy” Blaine answered with a tender smile. “Always”

“Should we go in, boys?” Tina asked, and the other three followed her inside.

They took the table they usually took and it was not much later that the joking and the laughing started. The four of them had always made a great team, and Blaine could almost pretend everything was alright again. Except that every now and then, Sam got a bit distracted and shut up for a while. Nobody noticed, except for Blaine, of course. So as soon as Tina and Mike left the table for a while to dance to their favorite song on the dance floor, Blaine turned to Sam.

“Sam, are you sure you’re alright?”

“Of course” Sam answered with a smile, moved that his friend would worry about him.

“You sure? You seem… preoccupied”

“No, bro. I was just thinking how good you look today”

“Really? I’m still not sure about the not-gelling thing, but if you like it so much…”

“I didn’t mean that!” Sam replied, blushing a little. “I mean that you look happier or… whatever”

“I know what you meant, you silly” Blaine joked. “I just wanted to see that beautiful smile of yours”

Sam immediately surrendered to Blaine’s wishes and smiled at him. How could he not, when Blaine’s whole attention and beautiful eyes were on him like this? He couldn’t deny that the conversation with Kurt had left him a bit upset –he couldn’t understand how it was even possible to love Blaine in less than a complete way… plus the part of having nothing to stand in their way now… All of it had given him a lot to think. But now was not the time for it. Tonight was about Blaine and making him feel loved and important. And he indeed looked happier than he had seen him in a long time. And that was enough reason to celebrate. He could think about everything else tomorrow.

“By the way, your plan is totally working” Blaine explained with a wide smile.

“Is it?” Sam asked, full of hope.

“I didn’t have any doubt about it. After all, it was yours” Blaine answered with another smile before lightly resting his head on Sam’s shoulders while they watched their friends dance. Sam, moved by his friend’s words and actions, threw his arm around Blaine’s shoulder and they remained in that position until their friends came back to their table.

Blaine had expected the dinner to be almost an intervention, but Kurt hadn’t appeared in their conversation once, and they hadn’t made any reference at Blaine’s state either. They had talked, and joked, and laughed, like they always did, and they had a great time. Just what Blaine needed. And Sam couldn’t be any happier about it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that was quite a challenging chapter to write... I didn't want to Kurt to be a villain, but I also needed for him to be "bad" enough that Sam can't forgive him (for now and for future chapters). I don't know if I'm explaining myself or if I achieved my goal. You'll have to be the judge of that!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you liked it! Thanks for reading!


	5. Chapter 5

Sam knew he was a pretty absent-minded person, it was no news for him. So it was not that big a surprise for him when he looked at the calendar to check for some due dates for a couple of books he was illustrating when he noticed his birthday was in two days. Man, time flew by.

He knew, though, why he hadn’t noticed it before, and it was because Blaine hadn’t reminded him of it. Usually, the curly-haired guy would be preparing all kinds of celebrations, asking him what he wanted as a present, leaving him hints or small gifts around the house from at least two weeks before the date. But this time he hadn’t shown any signs of even remembering about it.

Not that Sam could blame him. It had been over two months already since they had started their getting-better plan to get Blaine completely over Kurt. And Sam could proudly say it had been quite a success. Blaine was practically his old self these days, and Sam got to enjoy his beautiful smile and his endless energy more and more every day. But it hadn’t been easy, and there had been many ups and downs along the road. Self-steam issues and sudden loneliness were still present sometimes. Add that to the fact of how stressed Blaine was on his last months for his NYADA degree, and it was completely understandable that Blaine would forget about Sam’s birthday.

That, though, didn’t save Sam from feeling a little bit sad that he would miss Blaine’s birthday madness this year. It was always a lot of fun, and it had always made him feel so special –why would Blaine go to all the trouble to make him happy if he didn’t think he was special?–. But even if he didn’t have it this year, he knew he would have it again on the next one, because he didn’t doubt Blaine and him would always stay together, even if they never got to be more than friends. And that was good enough for him.

**********

“Morning!” Blaine happily called from the door, as he came back from his running to have breakfast with Sam before leaving for class. Sam hadn’t needed to watch what Blaine ate for a long time now, but they had established their breakfast together as a routine now, and none of them had any intention of stopping it.

“How the hell do you manage to be so cheery this early?” Sam asked over a yawn he couldn’t stop, pretending to be annoyed at Blaine’s exuberance –although internally he couldn’t be happier about it. He had really missed Blaine’s usual cheerfulness.

“I’m just great like that” Blaine joked, going to the kitchen to start some coffee.

Sam sat in one of the chairs, still too asleep to do anything, and contented himself with watching Blaine move around the kitchen, getting both their breakfasts ready and softly humming to himself. That was the real Blaine, the Blaine Sam had adored for so long, and not that depressed and vulnerable copy of himself that had substituted him for weeks after his break-up with Kurt. That was the Blaine Sam loved so much: happy, carefree, full of energy and with a permanent smile on his face. Except for those little moments he got sometimes where he got all pensive and distracted –in which Sam could easily figure what was going on in his head–, they could happily state that Blaine was back on his feet again.

Sam felt tempted for a second to remind Blaine that it was his birthday today, only so he would wish him a happy birthday and embrace him and make him feel as special as only Blaine knew how to do. But he also knew that Blaine would be devastated that he had forgotten, and the last thing Sam wanted was to dampen his spirits, especially on a day he had so clearly started off on the right foot. Maybe in the evening?

“Sammy” Sam was taken out of his thoughts with the snap of Blaine’s fingers in front of his face. “Earth calling to Sam!”

“What?” Sam stupidly asked.

“I asked you if you wanted milk on your coffee today. Are you alright?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m still not really awake yet” Sam lied.

“Here” Blaine said as he placed Sam’s breakfast in front of him.

“Hey, I was thinking maybe we could go and have dinner out tonight” Sam casually suggested as they ate.

“I can’t tonight, Sam, I’m sorry. I’m meeting with some of my classmates to work on a project, remember?” Blaine reluctantly refused.

“Yeah, you had told me about that, but you never said when it was” Sam tried not to show just how disappointed he was. “Does it have to be tonight?”

“I’m afraid so, it’s the only day we could all meet. But you and I can have dinner tomorrow, or any other day, right?” Blaine answered, oblivious to whatever was going on in Sam’s head.

“Yeah, I guess” Sam answered, clearly unconvinced.

“Any reason why it has to be tonight?” Blaine asked, perceiving some strange attitude at his friend.

“No, I was just in the mood. But you’re right, we can do that any other night” Sam immediately dismissed Blaine’s worries.

“Great, so it’s a date” Blaine widely smiled at him and stood up. “I’m going to take a shower”

Sam felt like an idiot for letting himself be so affected by this. It was just a stupid birthday, right? No one had died, everyone was healthy and his life –and Blaine’s– was going pretty good. Why did it matter so much to him that Blaine didn’t remember about it? Or that he wasn’t even going to be at home when he arrived after work like he usually was precisely today? It was better if he didn’t think about it very much. The best he could do was to go to work and just hope for the day to pass quickly.

**********

It had been a long time since Sam had felt in such a bad mood: not only his birthday had been completely neglected –only his family and a few distant friends had taken the trouble to wish him a happy birthday over the phone–, but his stupid boss –alright, he normally wasn’t stupid, but today it was all Sam could think of him– had been giving him silly and completely unimportant tasks that could have been made any other day but which for some reason they couldn’t wait. So it was almost two hours later than usual that he was heading home at last. Why was the universe against him?

When he opened the door to his apartment, the darkness that met him reminded him that Blaine wouldn’t be there until late at night, and that he would have to end this horrible day on his own. He didn’t even feel like having dinner: he would just watch some TV and head for bed to forget about the world until the next day. He even considered watching a couple of _Breaking Bad_ episodes without Blaine, because although he didn’t want to admit that to himself, he was a bit angry at his friend for leaving him alone on a day like this.

He closed the door behind him, and just when he was about to put his fingers on the switch to light the room, someone beat him to it and a loud cry of “surprise!” formed by many voices filled the previous silence of the place.

Sam couldn’t believe his eyes when amongst all the balloons and party decorations that filled the apartment, he saw so many familiar faces around him, coming to embrace him and pat his shoulders as they wished him a happy birthday. There were Tina and Mike, obviously, and Artie and Mercedes had been able to make it too. He could see some friends from work –the bastards that had left him working there on his own without giving him a clue about what was going on­–, his football buddies, and a few other friends. There was only a face he couldn’t see, and it was exactly the one he was dying to.

“Happy birthday, Sammy!” Blaine yelled from behind him –he had obviously been the one to turn on the lights, and he had been patiently waiting for everybody to have their time with him–, and Sam finally was able to turn around to the biggest grin he had seen in months. “What, don’t you have anything to say?”

“Wow!” Was all Sam was able to say as he put his arms around his smaller friend and embraced him close to his chest, taking the time to breathe in his scent. He had no doubt who had been the one to orchestrate all of this.

“I finally left you speechless!” Blaine joked, eliciting quite a few laughs from the people nearby. “I knew I’d manage it someday!”

“What’s all this?” Sam asked once the embrace broke, gesturing all around him, where people were finally dispersing and engaging in conversations of their own.

“I knew you could be really thick sometimes, but I think it’s pretty obvious this is a birthday party!” Blaine playfully answered, and Sam was amazed at the happiness that emanated from the smaller boy.

“I know that, you git. I mean, I was really not expecting this”

“That’s why they call it a _surprise_ party”

“Stop it!” Sam chuckled, playfully slapping Blaine’s arm. “It’s just that… With everything that’s been going on lately I thought you had…”

“Forgotten about your birthday?” Blaine finished for him with a knowing smile. That had been the idea all along: to make Sam believe he had forgotten, so he wouldn’t suspect about the party. “Sam, I could never, and I mean never, forget about the birthday of my best friend and my favorite person in the world”

“Am I really?” Sam asked, batting his eyelashes seductively at him as a joke, but his heart was really fluttering at how much trouble Blaine had gone for him.

“Are you really surprised? After all you’ve been doing for me… I wanted your birthday to be special, you know… as a thank you”

“You don’t need to thank me for anything” Sam responded, honestly this time, but Blaine was having none of it. Sam knew he had too soft a heart to just forget the kindness Sam had shown for him.

“Well, then I _want_ to. You’ve been there for me in a way no one would have ever been. If it hadn’t been for you… but no, I don’t want to get you into a sentimental mood, today is just for fun! This is a party, man, come on!” Blaine almost screamed before launching himself at Sam’s arms for another warm embrace that was reciprocated immediately.

“You’re my favorite person in the world too, you know?” Sam whispered in his ear, before he was pulled from him by the arms of Mike and the other former members of the Glee club that jumped over him in a mass of limbs and loud voices, not before he was able to see Blaine smiling sweetly at his words.

**********

“So you really had no idea?” Tina asked in amazement. They had been dancing for a long while, and now the little group had decided to sit and rest for a while as the party went around them, most of them a little tipsy to say the least.

“I didn’t! I thought I was just having the worst day ever!” Sam answered with a laugh.

“I had to speak to your boss so he would hold you there while we got everything ready” Blaine explained. “Thank you for your help, you guys, by the way”

“But how could you not give anything away?” Sam asked, turning to him in the narrow armchair they were sharing, so Blaine was practically sitting on Sam’s lap –not that any of them seemed to mind– and throwing his arm around Blaine’s shoulders.

“Man, it was so difficult for me not to spill any secrets! You don’t know how many times I just had to bite my tongue!” Blaine explained, making everyone laugh, and it earned him a tight squeeze towards Sam’s body and a kiss to his cheek –that no one seemed to find strange, as Sam always got extremely loving when he got a little squiffy.

“Well, it was the nicest surprise ever. I don’t know how to thank you” Sam softly told him.

“I know how!” Blaine jumped to his feet all of a sudden. “We have to do a duet”

“Nooo, Blaine, please!” Sam tried to nest himself better on the armchair to avoid moving, but Blaine grabbed his hand and started pulling, as the others cheered and said what a great idea it was.

“Come on, it’s been ages!” Blaine begged, trying to catch Sam’s other hand while the blond playfully avoided it.

“We just did one yesterday!” he complained.

“But not in front of an audience! Hey, what is that I’m hearing? Oh, it’s your favorite song!” Damn you, Mercedes, Sam thought as he noticed she was suddenly next to the sound system. “I guess you can’t say ‘no’ now!

There was such hope and anticipation on Blaine’s eyes –damn those beautiful enormous hazel eyes– that Sam didn’t have the heart to deny him a song any longer, so he let himself be pulled to his feet and tried not to show how much it affected him when Blaine’s arm got around his waist in an attempt to push him to where Mercedes was standing holding a microphone for them.

“I always knew buying you this karaoke for Christmas was the worst idea ever” Sam whispered to him even as he was taking the mic from Mercedes, but he was happy to hear Blaine’s loud laugh as an answer.

“You’re looking forward to it and you know it” Blaine answered, but Sam grabbed him and brought him to him with an arm around his shoulders to not let him take the other mic so they would have to sing with the same one.

Like in the old times, Sam and Blaine were quite a show, especially that night when both of them were so obviously happy and in sync with each other. Sam didn’t let go of his friend during all the song, and Blaine was very far com complaining about it, as they were both so lost in the song and in the fun they were having. The “audience” clapped their hands in time with the music, and everyone agreed what a great acting couple they made. Tina, who had been a direct witness on Blaine’s crush on Sam back in high school, even seemed to think they made a really cute couple, and not just artistically speaking. And even though they had always been ridiculously close, there was a new chemistry between them, right? Maybe it was just the alcohol, she thought. Or maybe not…

Once the song finished, they happily embraced, still euphoric because of the song, and laughed while clapping each other’s back as the whole room broke into an applause.

“Boys, you were terrific!” Artie congratulated them when they made their way back to their friends and their still empty armchair, though this time Sam took up the whole of it and grabbed Blaine around the waist to make him sit on his lap.

“Yeah, looks like Blam is back in town” Tina added, and if he didn’t knew her any better, Blaine would have thought she was dropping some kind of hint.

“I know!” Sam agreed with the biggest smile on his face, oblivious to any double meaning in Tina’s words. “Thanks for making me do it, man, I really had missed it”

“I’m glad I got you to do it, then! Wait, I’m too heavy, let me get another chair” Blaine suggested, feeling bad that Sam had to put on with his weight, but Sam’s arm strengthened the grip around his waist.

“No sense, man. You weight next to nothing! Just stay here and keep me warm” Sam announced, his tongue obviously loosing by the second because of the buzz, and this time even Blaine blushed a little.

Everyone was so happy and drunk that they didn’t seem to find their attitude odd at all, and they kept talking, laughing and drinking until the early hours, when most of the other guests had already left. Tina offered Blaine to help him clean up the place a little –Sam was obviously too plastered to be helpful– but Blaine assured her that she didn’t need to worry, that they would just go to sleep and do it in the morning. So Blaine, who hadn’t had so much to drink and was still quite in control of himself, made sure to get everyone in a cab so they would safely arrive to their homes, and then went up to his apartment to deal with a very drunken Sam.

Sam was already falling asleep on the armchair, and Blaine debated with himself for a second if he should just leave him there. If he had been in the sofa he would have, but in the armchair he was bound to wake up with a terrible ache in his neck, so Blaine decided that he needed to take him to bed at all costs.

“Sammy?” Blaine called him, amused, as he shook his shoulder.

“Mmmm” was all the answer Sam was able to give, which made Blaine smile even wider.

“Come on, buddy” he insisted as he grabbed Sam’s hand and pulled him to his feet. “You need to get into bed if you don’t want to feel like crap tomorrow. More than you are already going to, I mean”

“It was the best party ever, B” Sam almost yelled once he was on his feet, though he let most of his weight rest on Blaine as he felt the other boy’s arm around his waist holding him upright.

“I’m glad you had a good time” Blaine answered, unable to keep a fond smile from breaking in his lips as he pushed Sam towards his room.

“And you’re the best best friend ever too! Best best! Does that make any sense?” Sam laughed at his own joke, trying to keep his balance when Blaine let go of him for a second.

“As strange as it sounds, yes it does” Blaine played along with him as he took the covers from Sam’s bed aside.

“It’s because you’re the best” Sam insisted, and his smile didn’t falter one bit even when Blaine let him fall on his bed.

“You already said that” Blaine chuckled.

“But not just the best best friend. You’re just the best, dude” Sam looked like he could go on for hours, so Blaine hurried to take his shoes off for him to see if he could leave him to sleep as soon as possible.

“Thanks, Sammy. You’re pretty awesome too” Blaine said with a smile as he tried to cover Sam’s shoulder with the bed linens, but the blond’s sudden move to grab his wrist stopped him.

“You just don’t know just how great you are” Sam explained, with no trace of smile on his face anymore and a deep intensity in his voice.

“Don’t I?” Blaine asked, in his mind knowing he was making a mistake trying to keep a conversation with someone who was obviously so drunk.

“No, you don’t know” Sam went on, looking intently at Blaine’s eyes. “You’re too good to be true and you deserve someone who reminds it to you every day, not like Kurt. Kurt didn’t deserve you. You’re too awesome for him”

Blaine winced at the mention of his ex –which obviously went unnoticed to blind drunk Sam–, but didn’t say anything. He knew Sam didn’t know what he was saying at the moment, and it was best not to listen to him much.

“You know, you deserve someone who can really appreciate just how great you are, and who loves you with all his heart” Sam went on, even when his eyes were starting to flutter.

“Do I?” Blaine asked him with a small voice, and when Sam’s hand finally let go of his wrist, he moved again to cover him with the blanket.

“I could make you so happy, B… I’d dedicate every day of my life to make you happy”

“I don’t have a doubt, Sammy” Blaine answered as he fondly tuckered Sam.

“I love you” the same intensity from before came back to Sam’s eyes, and it moved Blaine so much that he sat at the bed’s edge next to the other boy, suddenly feeling the need to stay close to him just a little longer.

“I know you do” Blaine answered, moving a lock of soft hair that had fallen on Sam’s forehead out of the way.

“But like really, really love you” It almost seemed like Sam was trying to make a point, but the rational part of Blaine’s brain told him he shouldn’t read too much into it.

“I love you too, Sam”

“I wish you knew just how much I love you. You have no idea” Sam insisted once again, and Blaine had to laugh at how sentimental Sam got whenever he drank too much.

“Maybe you can tell me again someday when you’re not that drunk, you jerk. Good night” Blaine stood up to leave his friend to sleep it off, when the same hand from before captured his wrist again with renewed strength.

“No, don’t leave me” Sam pleaded quite pitifully.

“You need to sleep it up, man” Blain chuckled, trying to disentangle his hand from Sam’s grip, to no avail.

“Stay with me. Please”

“Come on, Sam, really?” Blaine was beginning to get tired of their game, he only wanted to sleep too!

“Pleeeeeease” Sam whined, and then he pouted to increase the effect.

“Ok, gosh, are you a five-year-old or what?” Blaine finally relented, and he lifted the covers to get under them while he nudged Sam to make some room for himself. “Move, you moron”

“See? You’re just so awesome” Sam happily announced and managed to move only an inch so there was still little space for Blaine and they ended up very close to one another. Blaine, very aware of how awkward it all felt, turned around in the bed and ended giving his back to Sam, just wanting for both of them to fall asleep.

That wasn’t a problem for Sam, though, as not even a minute later, more asleep than awake, he was all over Blaine and ended up spooning him with a ferocious grip around his middle. Blaine tensed for a minute, but as Sam’s deep breathing told him he was already practically asleep, he managed to relax. That was Sam, after all, and drunk or not, Blaine knew there was no safer place to be that in Sam’s arms. And, after a few more seconds, Blaine finally had to admit to himself that being held so protectively felt awkwardly wonderful.

“I love you” Sam’s slurred voice repeated once again, this time whispering it in Blaine’s ears, and a confusing warmth filled his chest. He knew better than to overthink Sam’s drunken words, but he couldn’t deny they were awakening in him feelings for the blond boy he thought had been gone for years –or had they just been buried deep and were now only reviving?–. He hadn’t thought about Sam in that way since high school –well, at least not frequently–, but suddenly it was all he could think about. Of course, feeling Sam’s breath so intimately on the back of his neck wasn’t helping him any.

It was the first time since Kurt broke up with him that he had allowed himself to feel something like that. Though even if he was not as drunk as Sam, he knew he had drunk a bit more than usual, so maybe it was just the heat of the moment for him too and tomorrow everything would be forgotten.

But for the first time in years, Blaine almost wished Sam’s words meant more than a friendly feeling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought we needed a little happy interlude before all the angst and drama starts again. I hope it wasn't too silly!


	6. Chapter 6

Blaine had woken up in the greatest mood, especially considering he had a bit of a headache going on –though nothing unbearable–. No, the reason for it was waking up next to good old Sam, who through the night had lost the tight grip he had hold on Blaine, but whose hand was still lightly resting on the shorter boy’s stomach.

Sam looked so peaceful and comfortable that of course Blaine didn’t feel the need of waking him up, especially considering how crappy he was going to feel after having so much to drink. So he had quietly lifted Sam’s arm and silently slipped out of the bed, and then made sure to cover Sam’s shoulders with the blanket so he wouldn’t get cold.

Although he tried not to drink too much those days –he tended to lose control of himself too much when he did, he had doubted his sexuality over Rachel once, for God’s sake!–, he still remembered what it was to wake up with a hangover, so he produced a bottle of water and some painkillers out of the kitchen and left them at Sam’s bedside table, knowing they would be the first thing in Sam’s mind once he was awake enough to understand he was not dying.

Looking at him one more time, Blaine felt a rush of emotion towards the bigger boy and he bended over to lay a kiss on his forehead. He almost regretted it when Sam moaned, but he curled around himself even further and continued sleeping. Blaine could only smile fondly at his actions.

Blaine went to the living room and sighed when he saw what a mess it was. But it had been well worth it, he reminded himself, and decided to start cleaning it up as he waited for Sam to wake up. He found his phone lying on the coffee table and he picked it up to see if he had any messages –he hadn’t checked them from the moment the party started. And he had, so without giving it much thought he opened them and discovered with dismay that they were from Kurt. Again.

 _I miss you_ , said the first one. _Please, talk to me_ was the second. _I’m very aware I screwed it up, so I’ll insist as long as you need me to_ said the last one.

That had been going on for two days now, and Blaine still didn’t know how to react to it. He had been able to put them out of his mind most of the time until know, because Sam’s birthday had been so important and he had invested all of his energy in it. But now it was over, he knew he couldn’t avoid it any longer. Better to think it through as he worked on making the apartment livable again, so he started putting everything in its place and taking all the used plates and cups to the kitchen.

He hadn’t really been expecting this. After all, he hadn’t heard from his ex for close to three months, not even when he had really needed to. He surely didn’t need it now. It had been a hard and difficult path to walk until he was on his feet again, but he had made it –or at least that’s what he had thought until now. Who was Kurt to screw it up again now?

And then there was Sam. Blaine might be a little naïve sometimes, but even he could see something was going on between them. At least on his part, as he had found himself thinking about Sam in a way he hadn’t for years. And everything Sam had said last night, even if in a drunken state…

Everything was so complicated that for a moment Blaine felt like screaming at the top of his lungs. If Kurt was still messing with him, maybe he wasn’t as over him as he thought, and Sam was only kind of a rebound. In fact, he clearly remembered when, back in high school, Tina had hinted that he may have a crush on Sam only because he missed Kurt and needed to project all his love on someone. What if he was doing it again? Although if he was honest with himself, back then it may have started like that, but the crush had developed into something more, and several times along the years he had wondered what would have happened if his feelings for Sam had been returned, and if he would have forgotten about Kurt for a chance to be with Sam. To this day, he still didn’t have an answer.

Was he again in the same situation, the only one with an infatuation for his best friend? Or everything Sam had said last night meant something that went beyond friendship? Sam probably wouldn’t even remember about it when he woke up but he, as hard as he try, couldn’t forget what that whisper in his ear had made him feel. And how did Kurt fit in all of this? Damn it, Kurt. He had always had the gift of opportunism.

Blaine decided to put all those thoughts aside for the moment when he heard dragged footsteps on the corridor. He refused to start the day in such turmoil when the only thing he wanted was to enjoy it with Sam. After all, they had had the most perfect party just last night. He wasn’t going to spoil the fun just yet with all his nonsense.

“In the kitchen!” he answered when Sam called for him, so he put a big smile on his face and waited for his friend to make an appearance.

**********

Just a tiny line of sunlight sneaking trough the curtains of his room had been enough to make Sam groan when he first opened his eyes, completely disoriented but pretty sure he was sporting the worst headache he had ever had. He drew his hands to his face, in an attempt of blocking the sun and falling back to sleep, but he knew his horrible headache wouldn’t let him. Plus his mouth felt as if it was filled with cotton. Maybe he should try to get up and see if he was able to stand on his feet.

When he turned around, still trying to gather the strength to get up, he discovered some painkillers and a water bottle on his bedside table. Blaine –he was an angel, wasn’t he?– had obviously been there to check on him and had anticipated he was going to need it. Right, he wasn’t ill, then. He just had a terrible hangover.

A smile broke up on his lips when he remembered the wonderful party Blaine had thrown for him the night before –yes, he was indeed an angel–. He could almost admit the hangover was totally worth it considering what a great time he had: seeing old faces, spending time with great friends, drinking, dancing, singing –with his arm around Blaine while they shared a mic, if he remembered correctly. And wait, had Blaine actually sat on his lap or was it just his imagination playing dirty tricks on him?

Another sudden memory made him sat up in a jump from the surprise of it, though he immediately regretted it when the action sent sharp knifes to his already battered temples. As he slowly lied down again, he remembered feeling very affectionate –and needy– as Blaine tried to put him to bed. But it was not possible that he had grabbed Blaine’s arm and not let go of him until he agreed to stay there with him, right? It was not like he had begged Blaine to sleep next to him, was it?

But when Sam rolled up to the other side of the bed, feeling entirely embarrassed about the thoughts going on in his head, he could totally feel a faint trail of Blaine’s scent in that part of the pillow, so Sam knew he had not dreamt it and the curly-haired boy had indeed slept there. Gosh, Sam thought mortified, he hoped he hadn’t scared him with his drunken gropy hands and his neediness. That was totally not how he had planned to let Blaine know about his feelings for him if he ever decided to do so. He just hoped he hadn’t spoken too much: it was too serious a matter to discuss while being plastered.

He finally sat up, carefully this time, and took the painkiller Blaine had left for him and emptied the bottle. It was time to get up and face the consequences of his actions, even if he didn’t remember them.

“Blaine?” he called when he couldn’t find him in the living room –which, to Sam’s surprise, was completely tidied up by then, with no trace of any party having happened the day before.

“In the kitchen!” the smaller boy replied, and Sam was quick to make his way towards him. At least he didn’t sound too pissed off. Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad.

“Good morning” Sam announced, his voice hoarse from sleep and pain, and Blaine smiled sympathetically at him before resuming his washing up on the sink.

“More like noon, actually” he cheerfully greeted him. “I can see you’re not feeling that well, uh?”

“You can totally say that” Sam answered as he sat on a chair, feeling like hell with all the movement, but at least relaxing at Blaine’s obvious good mood. At least he knew he had screwed it up too bad.

“It’s a good thing today it’s Saturday, then. We can have a quiet day at home” We?, Sam wondered, completely relieved. Blaine still wanted to spend his time with him. Everything seemed to be alright then, but he still felt as if he needed to apologize.

“Dude, I’m sorry about… last night”

“What about?” Blaine asked, a little surprised, as he turned around to look at his friend.

“I don’t remember much, but I have this feeling I got a little clingy” _Clingy_ to say the least, Sam thought with a grimace.

“Not more than usual when you get drunk” Blaine answered with a comforting smile.

“And sorry I made you stay with me”

“It’s not like it’s the first time we sleep in the same bed, Sam. And you were a perfect gentleman” Blaine winked to show he was joking. “So don’t worry about it. It felt kind of nice waking up next to someone who cares for you for once, to be honest” Blaine said before he could stop himself, and then blushed when he realized what he had said.

“Have you really cleaned everything up already?” Sam asked, trying to change the subject so as not to embarrass themselves any further.

“I’m just finishing with the last cups” Blaine answered, turning around to the sink again to hide the blush he still could feel in his cheeks.

“You shouldn’t have done it all by yourself, you should have waited for me or woken me up”

“Yeah, right, I didn’t think you would be the best of helps today. Besides, I organized the party, didn’t I? The least I can do is clean up once it’s over”

“You say that as if the party wasn’t for me or if I didn’t have the time of my life”

“Really?” Blaine asked with a shy smile, turning around to look at his friend again. “Did you have a good time?”

“Are you serious? Blaine, it was amazing. I feel like I didn’t thank you enough for it, you made me really happy last night”

“I’m so glad to hear that, then, considering it was the whole point of it. And oh, by the way, I still have one gift to give you” Blaine announced, as he left the room in a hurry to pick up whatever it was that he still had to give Sam.

“But you already gave me an amazing gift!” Sam loudly said, looking at his wrist. “This is the most beautiful watch I’ve ever had”

“Yeah, that’s the main gift, but I still haven’t given you the special gift” Blaine yelled from his room.

“Oh yeah, I forgot you always go all sentimental on birthdays” Sam replied amusedly, but Blaine was already back to hear him.

“Are you mocking me?” Blaine asked while he feigned to be offended.

“Of course not!” Sam defended himself with a laugh. “I love your special gifts, you know that”

“Well, in any case, I wanted to give you this in private. And since yesterday was out of question… I had to wait until today. Happy belated birthday, Sammy” he said, leaving a package on the table, in front of the blond.

Sam smiled in anticipation as he picked the package Blaine had given him. Not so carefully he started ripping off the paper, and he was both surprised and confused at what he saw: it was an awesome kit of drawing tools. However they were not the kind he usually used at work –and which he got at work for free, obviously–, but the type someone would use for lineal work: pencils, mechanical pencils, fineliner pens…

“I hope I got it right, the lady in the shop gave me some advice about it”

“I don’t get it” Sam confessed, unable to lie to his friend. “What does that mean?”

“This is for what you’re going to start from now on, something we talked about when we were younger. I know you like your illustrator work, and you’re so good at it, but I also know you’ve always wanted to create your own work. I’m just giving you the push to start creating your own comic or graphic novel or whatever suits you better, as I’ve known you’ve always wanted. This is just something to start with”

Sam stared at Blaine unblinkingly for a few seconds, having been left speechless by the same person for the second time in just a few hours days. He had never thought possible for someone to know another person better than they knew themselves, but Blaine had proved him wrong once again. It was right that they had talked about Sam drawing his own comics when they were younger, but it had been ages since he had even seriously thought about it. He liked his job enough, but as Blaine had said, he would only feel really satisfied with himself when he started creating something. And here Blaine was, giving him the little push he needed to really put some serious thought in it.

Too moved for words, he jumped to his feet and engulfed the shorter boy in his embrace, feeling Blaine melt immediately into his arms.

“Thank you” Sam wanted to say so much more, but he couldn’t find the right words so he let his arms around his friend, squeezing him strongly to his chest, speak for him.

“For a moment I thought you didn’t like it” Blaine chuckled in relief.

“I think it’s the best gift I’ve ever received” Sam explained, finally breaking the embrace but keeping his hands in Blaine’s shoulders. “How did you remember?”

“Sam, every conversation we have is important to me, especially if you’re talking about your dreams. I just thought it was about time to start moving towards your goals, that’s all”

“But these… All of this must have cost you a fortune”

“Don’t be silly. Your dreams are priceless”

“I promise I’m going to give this a good use”

“I’m holding you to that promise. You’ll have to dedicate your first comic book to your greatest friend, right?”

“Yeah, totally. Mike really deserves that honor” Sam joked, and he had to let go of his friend and jump backwards to avoid Blaine’s playful punch.

“Hey!” Blaine protested with a chuckle.

“I’m not kidding. You exceeded your position as a friend a long time ago, right? We’re more than friends”

“What?” Blaine asked, shaking his head to be sure he was hearing correctly.

“I mean that… you’re my brother” Sam rushed to explain himself, afraid he had made Blaine uncomfortable with his words. And after everything that had happened last night…

“Oh, right… yeah, totally” Blaine answered with a nervous smile, that Sam couldn’t decipher if it was from relief or disappointment.

“Well, Blaine” Sam tried to change subjects again, as it was becoming quite a common thing lately, apparently. “All in all this has been the best birthday ever, and that’s saying something when you think of all the birthdays I’ve gotten to celebrate with you”

“You only get what you deserve, Sam” Blaine answered, a little too emotional but completely honest, though he quickly changed to a lighter mood himself. “At least I got you to stop thinking about your headache, right?”

_**********_

After Blaine finished with the cleaning up and Sam took a shower to feel like a person again, they had a light lunch –well, Blaine did, because Sam still felt unable to get anything into him apart from water– and then they decided to spend a quiet afternoon in front of the TV, as they really didn’t have much energy for anything else. And to be honest, both of them felt like just enjoying their time together snuggling on the sofa, even if neither of them was going to admit it.

So after only a while, Sam was already perched against the armrest, his legs on the sofa, and Blaine was between him and the back of the sofa, resting his side on Sam’s chest, both feeling very comfortable with each other’s warmth as they watched another episode of _Breaking Bad_. They were already on season four, and totally engrossed on their misadventures of Walt and Jesse when Blaine’s phone started beeping.

“Aren’t you going to get it?” Sam asked, surprised that Blaine hadn’t moved to see who it was –as he usually was too well-mannered not to answer immediately if he was available.

“No, we’re watching TV now, I’ll get it later” Blaine answered, and if Sam didn’t know better, he would have thought Blaine didn’t want to read the messages he was receiving.

They kept watching the show, although Sam could feel the atmosphere had changed and Blaine was now tense and distracted –and that instantly made Sam tense and distracted too, obviously. So when Blaine’s phone beeped again, he finally left his comfortable nest in Sam’s chest, clearly annoyed, and jumped to the other side of the sofa to pick the phone from the table and finally get a look at it.

Sam paused the show with the remote and watched as Blaine read the messages, sighed in exasperation, and turned the phone off before practically throwing it on the table again. Blaine nodded for him to press play again and turned his eyes towards the television, but it was obvious his heart was not into it. Plus he hadn’t returned to his place in Sam’s chest, and the blond was already missing the contact.

“B?” Sam dared to ask after a minute of Blaine’s lost gaze.

“Hmmm?

“Everything alright?”

“Yeah, of course” Blaine answered with a smile, slightly shaking his head as if to get rid of any other thoughts invading his brain.

“’Cause you seem kind of distracted” Sam added, hoping to discover what was going on in his best friend’s head.

“Do I?” Blaine answered with another question, and Sam could see he was trying to avoid giving any explanations.

“Yes. From exactly the moment your phone beeped. Are you sure you’re alright?” Sam insisted.

“I guess” Blaine answered, obviously deflated, and Sam once again paused the episode to give Blaine his whole attention.

“May I ask who was that?”

“Mmm… It was Kurt” Blaine answered after some hesitation, looking at the floor to avoid Sam’s gaze.

“Oh” was all the blond could say. He really hadn’t been expecting that.

“Yeah. He’s been texting me quite a bit for the last couple of days” Blaine explained, finally rising his eyes to see the surprise in Sam’s face.

“How come you didn’t say anything?” Sam asked, trying not to feel left out at the obvious lack of information he had been receiving.

“It was your birthday, we had a lot to focus on”

“Just that?”

“I don’t know… I guess didn’t want to give it more importance than it had”

“And does it have?” Sam asked, his heart in his throat at the prospect of Kurt back in the picture.

“I don’t know” Blaine answered, looking so lost Sam’s heart broke a little.

“And… what does he want?”

“At first he only said he missed me”

“And now?”

“Now he says he wants to talk to me”

“About?” Sam knew he was practically doing a third degree, but he really needed to know where they were standing.

“He doesn’t say. He asked me to meet up with him for a coffee or something” Blaine answered, as Sam knew he would do with any question Sam asked, even if they made him uncomfortable.

“Have you answered him?”

“No”

“And are you going to go?”

“I don’t know” Blaine answered for the third time.

“That’s an awful lot you don’t know” Sam ironically replied, much more bitterly that he had intended.

“Sam, I… wasn’t expecting it, don’t be like that” Blaine practically begged him, and Sam knew he had to be more patient for him. After all, Blaine had done no wrong, he didn’t deserve his anger.

“But do you want to see him?” he asked in what he hoped was a more understanding voice.

“I don’t know, Sam” Blaine answered, pleading with his eyes for him to stop it, but he couldn’t.

“What if he wants to go back with you?”

“I’d just like to hear what he has to say. Maybe he just wants to apologize”

“Yeah, the hell he wants that” Sam answered with a humorless laugh, only making Blaine curl into himself as if he wanted to disappear.

“What’s really going on, Sam?” Blaine could be quite incisive too when he needed to. “How do you feel with this?”

“You know how I feel about this, Blaine, don’t make me say it”

“Please, Sam. You know how much I trust you, I want to know how you feel”

“Ok, you want to know how I feel about this? I feel angry. Angry because he broke up with you for the most selfish reasons. I’m angry because he left you completely miserable and not once did he worry about it. I’m angry he didn’t even act as the friend he had always considered himself to be for you. I’m angry that after what? Three months? he thinks he just has to call and you’ll be running to him. But above all I’m angry that you’re even considering it, as if suddenly you forgot all the pain he pulled you through”

Sam hadn’t mean to have an outburst like that, and he regretted being so harsh almost immediately, especially when he dared to look at Blaine’s expressive eyes and saw the pain in them. But he didn’t regret his words, because Blaine had wanted to know how he felt and he would always be honest with him.

“Sam?” Blaine’s voice sounded so small that Sam only wanted to embrace him and protect him from all the wrong in the world, though he resisted, because he needed to make a point.

“What?” Sam asked, more calmly but still distant.

“Don’t stay angry at me for too long, please” Blaine surprised him with his request, and it was enough to break Sam’s resolution to stay firm.

“God, Blaine, I wish I could" Sam answered in all honesty, much softer this time.

“Can we just keep watching the show?”

Sam sighed in defeat –he couldn’t help it, Blaine would always be in control of his emotions– and though he didn’t say anything, he lifted his arm for Blaine to cuddle against his chest again as an act of surrender.

“I wouldn’t be able to stand it if you stayed angry at me for more than a minute” Blaine confessed, a little too emotionally, as he nested his head under Sam’s chin, grateful for the warmth of Sam’s arms, squeezing him.

“I just don’t want you to suffer anymore” Sam explained, justifying himself for his anger.

“I know” Blaine answered in complete understanding and gratefulness.

They remained in that position, with Blaine practically lying on top of Sam with the blond’s arms tightly wrapped around him, for a few minutes, both pretending –and failing– to watch the episode.

“Tell me to ignore him and I just will” Blaine suddenly spoke after some time, and Sam’s chest tightened at the trust Blaine had deposited in him.

“I can’t tell you what to do, Blaine. I’m sorry I overreacted before, but it’s you who has to decide what you want to do. And I’ll support you whatever you decide” as much as it hurts me, Sam added to himself.

“Ignoring him seems like the easiest answer”

“You don’t want to see him?” Sam asked in surprise. Only a couple of months ago Kurt was Blaine’s whole universe.

“It’s not exactly that” Blaine tried to explain, especially to himself as he was clearly very confused. “It’s just… just when I thought I was over him, he has to appear and mess everything up again”

“You’re not over him?” Sam insisted, trying to hide the fear he was feeling.

“Yes. At least I think so” Blaine answered, and Sam had to fight against his urges to sigh in relief. At least he was grateful Blaine’s face was still under his chin so he couldn’t see his face and read him like he usually did.

“But you’re afraid that seeing him might upset you again” Sam finally understood.

“Yes. It was hard learning to live without him, and I don’t want to feel like that again. So ignoring him would be the ideal thing to do”

“But you don’t want to ignore him like he did to you because you know how much that hurts”

“How do you know?” Blaine asked in amazement, raising his head from Sam’s chest to finally look at him.

“Because I know you, Blaine” Sam answered fondly.

“You really do. So you know that if I finally decide to meet him, it doesn’t mean I want to be with him again, right?” Blaine didn’t know why, but he felt the need to make it clear that he wasn’t thinking about Kurt in that way.

“Yeah” Sam answered, but he couldn’t deny there was a real fear in his heart that Blaine would change his mind once he got to see Kurt again. “But please, whatever happens… talk to me about it. Don’t keep me in the shadows again”

“Ok” Blaine promised before he left his head fall on Sam’s chest again and strengthened the grip around his torso, suddenly feeling very vulnerable and in need of a comfort only Sam could give him. “But can we just pretend there are only you and I in the world just for one day?”

“And as many days as you want” Sam conceded, resting his lips on the top of Blaine’s head in an undying kiss meant for comfort in both directions. If Blaine wanted no one else but him in the world, he would surely give him that. And he wished he could give it to him every day.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know if you were expecting that, but just wait... there are worse things about to happen ;)


	7. Chapter 7

Blaine kept watching Sam from the corner of his eye as they had breakfast on silence on Monday morning, trying to guess which mood was he in. After the conversation about Kurt on Saturday afternoon, the rest of the weekend had been quite odd, with a strange air between them. It was not that Sam was being directly unpleasant or cold towards him, but it was obvious he was not his usual self and was keeping his distance –which made Blaine feel really lonely.

Their silence was interrupted when Blaine’s phone, lying in the kitchen counter, loudly vibrated, and Blaine threw a guilty look at Sam, who just sighed tiredly.

“Is he still texting?” Sam finally asked.

“Worse. As I didn’t answer any of his texts he is calling now” Blaine answered after checking his phone to see that it was indeed Kurt calling him.

“You’ve talked to him?” Sam asked, and Blaine could clearly sense some kind of apprehension in his voice.

“No, I haven’t picked it up yet”

“But?” Sam insisted, and for once Blaine hated that he knew him so well.

“But I’m thinking… about meeting him”

“Right” was all Sam said before he got up and left his plate on the sink, but to Blaine it was worse than if he had yelled at him.

“I was thinking… maybe a coffee?” Blaine explained, implicitly begging for Sam to understand and accept it was not easy for him either. “Something easy in a neutral place”

“If you have to do it, I think it’s the best idea” Sam answered, already starting to wash the dishes.

“But before I agree to meet him… I need to know that’s not going to cause a rift between you and me” Blaine explained, and there was such insecurity in his voice that Sam felt obliged to lessen his tone and turn around to look at him. He was so angry at the whole situation that he needed to keep reminding himself it was not Blaine’s fault.

“No, Blaine, of course not” Sam answered, although he wasn’t sure himself. “I told you the other day that I’d support you, no matter what”

“Are you sure? Because you seem pretty angry to me” Blaine confessed, and Sam nodded, understanding the image he was giving to his friend.

“Well, I am not going to lie to you, I don’t like it. But it’s your decision”

“I’ve got the impression that you feel betrayed, after how much you helped me with the breakup and now with me wanting to meet him…”

“Don’t be silly, Blaine” Sam interrupted him, feeling bad for the boy and his constant habit of feeling guilty about everything. “This is not about me at all, and forgive me if I’m being an idiot. Don’t think that because I was there for you, I expect you to live your life under my wishes from now on. I helped you unconditionally”

“I’m not looking forward to meet him either” Blaine confessed, feeling the need to express his worries to his best friend, even if he still felt a little distant. “But I’m afraid I won’t be able to put all this behind me if I don’t hear what he has to say. I owe it to him after so many years together, right?”

“You mean like he owed to you?” Sam ironically asked.

“And how angry and hurt was I because of that? I’d be a hypocrite if I did the same”

Sam sighed as he understood a little better Blaine’s position in relation to this Kurt thing. He didn’t want to go back to him; he practically didn’t even want to see him. He was just doing what he thought was right. And Sam respected him for that, even if he was terrified of the consequences of seeing again the person he had loved for six years.

“Like I said, Blaine, it’s up to you. Just… be careful” Sam warned him, his voice full of worry, and it was the closest Blaine had felt him all weekend. “Remember all the pain he put you through after the breakup… and even before”

“I know” Blaine tried to reassure him he was very aware of it.

“Good. Just keep that in mind while you’re talking to him” Sam advised him as he patted Blaine’s shoulder before standing up and living the room.

Maybe Sam wouldn’t admit it, but Blaine could see he was deeply affected by all of this, as he had been all weekend. Blaine knew Sam only wanted to protect him and respect his wishes at the same time, and all those conflicted emotions were keeping him in tension and anger, even if he tried to control them. Blaine didn’t even want to think about other possible feelings that were making Sam so upset. Like jealousy. He could not think about that at the moment, not while Kurt’s shadow was still projecting over them.

The only thing he could do was finally speak to Kurt and put an end to it, so he and Sam could go back to their simple and happy lives and maybe, just maybe, figure out what was going on between them lately.

**********

Kurt found himself anxious to see Blaine as he waited for him in the café they were supposed to meet. He had been pleasantly surprised when in the morning he had received a message from Blaine asking him to meet him there after class. It was a place where they had not been before –it almost looked as Blaine wanted to keep it as neutral as possible–, but it was halfway between NYADA and Kurt’s apartment, so it would do for both of them.

The weather didn’t seem to agree to it, as it had been raining all day long and at the moment it was actually pouring. Kurt was waiting under his enormous umbrella, mostly dry and protected, but he had the strongest suspicion Blaine was not going to be like this. And when he saw him walking towards him, completely drenched and in obvious disgust, Kurt couldn’t help but smile fondly at how predictable Blaine could be.

“Hi, Blaine” he tenderly said as soon as Blaine reached him, and he quickly rearranged the umbrella so it was covering both of them.

“Hello, Kurt” Blaine answered kind of shyly and, without even meaning to, he bended over backwards to avoid Kurt kissing his cheek –though the latter chose not to say anything.

“My God, you’re soaked to the skin” Kurt commented, and Blaine blushed slightly.

“Yeah, well, I didn’t have an umbrella with me, so…”

“You will never change, won’t you?” Kurt asked, amused, but Blaine couldn’t decipher if it was an innocent comment or a criticism. It always had been like that with Kurt.

“That’s what it seems” he answered in his most neutral tone.

“You can’t stay on those wet clothes. Why don’t you come home and I’ll lend you a towel and something dry to wear?”

“I don’t know, Kurt…” Blaine hesitated, seeing his plan about having a short conversation in a public place was being taken out of him.

“Come on, it’s not that big a deal. It’s just nearer than your home and I just don’t want you catching pneumonia” Even though Kurt’s reasoning seemed completely valid, it was just what Blaine had been wanting to avoid. But then he felt some water falling down his back and he visibly shivered, and he knew there was really no choice.

“Alright” he finally relented, and reluctantly let Kurt hook his arm around his while they walked under the excuse of keeping the umbrella in a good position between them.

**********

The walk towards Kurt’s apartment was filled with small talk and awkward silences. They knew the important conversation would be better held once they were dry and comfortable, so they just filled each other about silly things and updates about their respective lives in the three months they hadn’t seen each other.

“Come in” Kurt invited him as he held the door for him once they reached the apartment.

“Thanks” Blaine answered as he made his way in. He didn’t know why he was feeling so shy and uncomfortable all of a sudden. This was the man whom he had shared his life for six years, how could things change so much in just a few weeks?

“If you come with me to the bedroom, I’ll give you a towel and we’ll look for something for you to wear, ok?” Kurt suggested, and Blaine followed him without a word.

Blaine had a look around as he walked, marveling at how everything in the apartment was exactly the same as it was before, yet he didn’t feel at home anymore there.

“Here” Kurt took him out of his reverie as he handed him a towel. “You should really start using umbrellas, you know”

“I know” Blaine finally answered. “Sam keeps giving them as a present to me, but I manage to lose them every single time”

If Kurt was in any way upset by the mention of Sam, he didn’t show it as he opened his wardrobe and took some clothing out of it.

“Now that I think about it, I have some clothes of yours still here. I was meaning to send them to you, but… Well, somehow I never did. But here, take them. And use them know, please”

“Thanks, I’ll take this sweatshirt. In fact, this is Sam’s” Blaine explained with a fond chuckle that didn’t go unnoticed to Kurt. “I guess I borrowed it from him some time. I wonder if he ever noticed it gone”

“And how is Sam?” Kurt asked, feigning genuine interest for the blond boy. Kurt had not forgotten the last conversation he had had with him at Vogue, and how Sam had admitted having feelings for Blaine. Kurt wondered if him and Blaine could be now an issue or if, in the contrary, Blaine even knew about it.

“He’s good. He has a lot of work lately, actually, but he’s so good at it…” Blaine explained with a smile that betrayed the admiration he felt for his friend, and that felt like an arrow to Kurt’s heart.

“Well, don’t wait until you get cold, get changed now” Kurt urged him, tired of talking about Sam.

Blaine quietly obeyed and was about to start removing his soaked clothes when he discovered Kurt was still behind him, not giving him the privacy he suddenly needed.

“Do you mind?” Blaine asked, slightly annoyed.

“Blaine, come on, I’ve seen you naked thousands of times” Kurt answered with a laugh, and the sarcasm in his voice didn’t do much to keep Blaine from starting to get irritated.

“That was different, we were together then” Blaine answered, clearly exasperated at having to explain something that should have been obvious. “I don’t feel comfortable with it anymore”

“Geez, Blaine, you’re not going to make this easy for me, are you?” Kurt responded, raising his hands in surrender, the smile gone for his face. “Alright, I’ll let you get changed; I’ll make some coffee meanwhile”

Blaine sighed once he found himself alone in Kurt’s room. A room he knew very well, yet at the moment he felt completely out of place in it. Maybe Sam was right, and he shouldn’t have come. Maybe he really didn’t owe Kurt anything and he should have just forgotten about him. But well, he was there now and he better started what he had come to, and that was talking to Kurt and discovering what he wanted, so he quickly changed to the dry clothes, put the wet ones on the plastic bag Kurt had given him and went in search of his ex boyfriend.

“Well” Blaine said once in the living room, where he sat on the sofa next to Kurt, making sure to keep his distance from the other man. “What did you want to talk about?”

“Right to the point, aren’t we?” Kurt asked with an ironic smile.

“That’s why I am here, Kurt. I only want to hear what you’ve got to say” Blaine answered, trying not to sound too harsh.

“Well, what I wanted to say basically is… that I’ve missed you” Kurt explained, sounding honest for the first time.

“Yeah, you already said that on your messages” Blaine interrupted him, not wanting to let himself fall in a wheel of compassion or pity for the other boy. Sam had only asked one thing out of him, and that was to be careful. So that’s what he was planning to do.

“Which you didn’t reply” Kurt lightly reproached him.

“You really want to talk about ignoring messages?” Blaine asked, his previous annoyance returning in an instant.

“No, of course not” Kurt tried to placate him. “Blaine, I also wanted to apologize for how I treated you”

“Alright” Blaine answered shortly, not feeling ready to forgive so easily.

“And… I’ve been thinking about you lately. A lot. And I’ve realized what a big mistake I made letting you go”

“And?”

“And I was wondering if… there was a chance we could get back together and forget all of this happened”

“So that’s it?” Blaine asked, completely astounded.

“What?” Kurt retorted in confusion.

“You put an end to our relationship like it had meant nothing, you made me feel like shit and then even forgot I existed” Blaine reproached him, trying not to raise his voice. “And now you have the guts to appear again out of nothing and tell me to forget it all happened?”

“I already apologized”

“And you think that changes anything?” Blaine asked with a humorless chuckle.

“I was hoping you could give me another chance. We were so great together, weren’t we?” Kurt said, trying to soften Blaine’s heart with nostalgia, though to no avail.

“Were we? Because I seem to remember you broke up with me because I didn’t meet your expectations”

“I’m willing to work on that” Kurt reluctantly promised.

“You hurt me. A lot. If Sam hadn’t been the wonderful friend he is, I don’t know where I would be right now”

“Yes, Sam is indeed wonderful, isn’t he?” Kurt asked, his voice full of venom at yet another mention of someone he was starting to perceive as his rival.

“That’s not the point, is it?” Blaine answered, not really understanding where Kurt’s sarcasm towards Sam was coming from.

“I know” Kurt immediately relented, knowing he was not getting nowhere in antagonizing the other boy. “Look, Blaine, I’m so sorry I hurt you. I’m not asking you to erase these weeks and just go back to where we were. I know I have a lot to make up for, and I’m going to. We can start dating again, slowly, at your own pace. Let’s get a fresh start. I still love you so much”

“It doesn’t work like this” Blaine lamented, bringing his hands to his face to rub it in frustration.

“Tell me you don’t love me anymore” Kurt dared him.

“Kurt, I…” Blaine tried to talk, but his voice and his brain betrayed him.

“See? You can’t even say it” Kurt said triumphally, and that thought gave him the courage to bend towards Blaine looking for the kiss he had been denied before.

“No, Kurt, stop!” Blaine almost yelled, pushing Kurt away from him before their lips met and jumping to his feet to get some distance between them. “This is not okay! You can’t just kiss me and tell me you love me and expect me to forget everything you put me through!”

“Look, Blaine, I can see you’re angry at me and I understand. But I still love you and I want you back in my life. I’ll do everything you ask me to do. And if you have me back, I promise everything will be different. I’ve seen how it is to be without you and I’m never taking you for granted again” Kurt insisted, and he seemed so honest for once that Blaine’s heart went to him for a second.

Blaine’s head hurt at the many thoughts swirling there at the moment. What Kurt had said… It was all Blaine had wanted to hear for weeks, even months. Not only Kurt was apologizing for how he had left him, but was admitting his mistakes in their relationship and was promising to change. He was willing to fight for him, and he wasn’t taking him for granted. It all seemed so perfect…

That was what Sam was so afraid of, wasn’t it? That once he saw Kurt, he would mess up with his heart again and Blaine would fall back in his arms. Sam. Just the thought of him changed everything, though. Sam, who had always been at his side when Kurt wasn’t. Sam, who always put Blaine’s welfare above his own, like Kurt didn’t. Sam, who didn’t need to change because he was already perfect. Sam, for whom he was starting to feel something real and special that he didn’t feel for Kurt anymore. That was the difference now: Sam.

“Yes, Kurt, I’m angry, but that’s not it. I can’t keep going backwards. I have to look forward, to the future, and I don’t think you fit into it” Blaine tried to explain, not wanting to hurt the other man in spite of how angry he felt.

“You can’t know that if you don’t even try to fit me in. Please, just let me show you it can work” Kurt was almost begging, and it was breaking Blaine’s heart to know he had to refuse him.

“I’m not sure if I want to try” Blaine whispered, and his heart was really aching at the thought of what it could have been, had Kurt made that change before.

“I know it’s a lot to take after so long. Don’t answer me now. Please, think about it” Kurt finally relented, trying to be reasonable.

“Kurt, I don’t…”

“Please, just… think about it” Kurt pleaded, and Blaine had the feeling he was just trying to postpone the inevitable.

“Alright” Blaine conceded finally, finally letting himself feel compassion for Kurt’s pain, even if his was no small either at the moment.

“That’s all I ask”

“But please, stop calling or texting or whatever” Blaine pleaded. “I need some space to think. I’ll let you know when I have my decision”

“It’s just fair” Kurt stood up from the sofa to accompany Blaine to the door.

“I’ll… call you soon, okay?” Blaine promised, and then turned around and left before he was able to regret anything that had happened.

**********

Sam was surprised to see Blaine’s light still on when he arrived at the apartment that night. After spending quite a horrible day at work thinking about the possible consequences of Blaine’s meeting with Kurt, he had let himself be dragged to have a beer that turned into having dinner out with some of his coworkers –at least that way he wouldn’t be alone at home biting his nails with anxiety. Also, he was quite terrified about what he would find at home, what news Blaine would have for him, so he hadn’t been all that eager to go home. He had thought that he would find Blaine asleep and he would be able to pretend he wasn’t losing him for just one more night.

But Blaine was awake, and Sam suddenly found out he needed to know, he couldn’t delay it any longer, so he hung his jacket next to Blaine’s –which was, obviously soaked, he thought with a shake of his head– and immediately headed to Blaine’s room.

“Hey” he said after gently knocking on the open door.

“Hey!” Blaine raised his eyes from the book he was reading on his bed and sent a quick smile to his friend. “I didn’t know you were going to come this late. I left you some supper, if you’re hungry” Blaine explained, without any trace of reproach on his voice.

“Yeah, I didn’t have it planned, but we ended up having dinner out with my workmates. I’m sorry I missed your dinner, I should have texted you, but I didn’t know if you’d be home” Sam awkwardly apologized, still not moving from the doorway.

“It’s okay” Blaine reassured him.

“Do I know this sweatshirt?” Sam suddenly asked when he noticed what Blaine was wearing, trying to create a lighter atmosphere in the room.

“Yes, it’s yours. Somehow it was at Kurt’s and I… You don’t mind me wearing it, do you?” Blaine asked, hugging himself, and Sam could almost feel as if Blaine was wearing it for comfort. As if Blaine would turn to Sam’s clothes for comfort when he was not around to give it to him himself and that thought alone immediately warmed his heart.

“Of course not, you can keep it” Sam answered after he realized Blaine was waiting for an answer. “I didn’t even remember about it”

“Thanks, man” Blaine’s face lit up with a smile and he hugged the sweatshirt to him again.

“So… how did it go?” Sam finally asked, his voice filled with apprehension.

“He asked me to get back together” Blaine explained, not feeling the need to beat about the bush with his best friend.

“Just like that” Sam exclaimed with the same astonishment Blaine had felt back then, to which the curly-haired boy just shrugged.

“He said he realized what a big mistake he made. That he misses me” Blaine explained, and with the neutrality of his voice Sam couldn’t decipher if he believed Kurt’s words or not.

“You mean he misses having a boyfriend” Sam couldn’t restrain himself.

“Sam, please”

“And what did you tell him?” Sam asked, anxious to reach the main point of the conversation.

“That I would think about it” Blaine simply answered.

“Right. Just great” Sam’s expression changed drastically to that cold one he had been sporting all weekend and he turned around without a second glance to his friend. “I’m going to bed now”

“Sam, wait” Blaine called after him, standing up to follow him if it was necessary, but Sam stopped, still unable to deny him anything even when his heart was breaking. “I already did”

“Did what?”

“Thought about it. I’ve been thinking about it for hours and I realized there really wasn’t a decision to make. That’s why I was waiting for you. I wanted you to be the first one to know” Blaine explained, not being able to stop a little smile breaking into his lips.

“And?” Sam asked, not daring himself to hope.

“I’m not getting back together with him again. I don’t feel anything for him anymore, and being with him today only confirmed it to me. I mean… I’d like to have him back as a friend, if that’s even possible, but… nothing else” Blaine explained, and he seemed so confident about his decision…

“Are you sure about that?” Sam asked, not really daring to believe it was true.

“Completely” Blaine assured him, and he brought his hand to Sam’s biceps for a reassuring squeeze. “It was so difficult getting over him… But now I know I am. I’m over him and I’ve got no intention of turning back”

Sam didn’t know why he did it, but when words failed him, he threw his arms around the smaller boy and embraced him more strongly than he ever had. For an instant he feared Blaine would misread his actions and think he didn’t care that his relationship with Kurt was officially failed, but then Blaine put his arms around him too and chuckled, and Sam doubted he had ever felt any happier.

“So it was good for me seeing him, you know?” Blaine explained, still tightly wrapped in Sam’s arms. “Because now I know I can see him and I’m not going to feel anything for him beyond friendship”

“Are you okay?” Sam finally found his voice, and broke the embrace to look at Blaine’s face, though he kept his hands on Blaine’s upper arms, still not ready to lose the contact.

“I think so” he replied with a grateful smile. “It was a much easier decision than I thought it would be. I feel bad for him, he looked really honest and repentant but… He is not what I want anymore”

“I’m sorry I pressed you with this, I can see now that I was wrong” Sam apologized, feeling genuinely sorry about the cold treatment he had been giving his friend for the last couple of days. “But I was so afraid you’d fall back in his arms again…”

“I already told you that I wasn’t going to” Blaine responded, still smiling fondly at Sam’s protective instincts.

“I know but… you loved him so much”

“Of course I did. But I don’t anymore”

“But your breakup with him hurt you so much” Sam insisted, but Blaine had finally gotten things straight and he was not backing down.

“Yeah, but I got over it, didn’t I? Thanks to you, in fact. Even if you don’t know, you guided me so much into making this decision…” Blaine explained, remembering how just thinking about Sam had immediately cleared his mind of all doubt while he was still talking to Kurt.

“Are you really sure?”

“What are you so afraid of?” Blaine asked, taking one of Sam’s hands –still on his arms– and holding it close to his own heart, trying to show Sam how he was there for him too if he wanted to share his fears with him.

“I… don’t think I could stand seeing you with him again” Sam confessed after some hesitation.

Blaine looked directly at Sam’s eyes and he was surprised, almost afraid, at the amount of sentiment he saw in them, which he was pretty sure was reflected on his own. Before he knew what was happening, he rose on his tiptoe and lifted his face towards Sam’s, who met him half way, and suddenly their lips connected.

A shock of electricity travelled around both their bodies at the contact, but Sam didn’t give Blaine any time to react before he was deepening the kiss, in which Blaine immediately got lost. It wasn’t until he felt Sam cupping the back of his head with one hand and encircling his waist with his other arm that he was really aware of what was happening.

When the kiss broke, Blaine didn’t open his eyes for a second and let his forehead rest on Sam’s cheek, his arms still around Sam’s shoulders, in no hurry to get out of the blond’s embrace. It would be so easy to let go and lose himself in Sam’s comforting arms… But he knew it was not fair for Sam, not yet, not while he hadn’t put an official end to Kurt’s matter. Not while Blaine still didn’t understand what was going on in his heart.

“Night, Sam” he whispered, still too breathless from the kiss and the feelings it had ignited to say anything more.

“Night, B” Sam said, understanding –always understanding– and with a shy but happy smile on his face, he took the time to place a gentle kiss on Blaine’s forehead before he gave his body a last squeeze for a second and then turned to go to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? I'm not entirelly happy with it, but I'm having a really low day so I really don't know... I hope it wasn't a big disappointment! Next chapter coming soon!


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this chapter is a bit shorter, but I wanted for it to finish in that exact point so... ;)

Blaine held the cup of hot coffee between both his hands, waiting for its warmth to seep through his cold fingers. He had just arrived home from his morning running session and the weather was just as horrible as it had been the day before –though this time Blaine had wore a raincoat so he was spared from another drenching.

Sam had not gotten up yet, and Blaine smiled fondly when he remembered how much Sam liked to snuggle up on bed on days like that, just listening to the sound of raindrops hitting the window. For a moment, Blaine debated with himself if maybe he could sneak into Sam’s room and snuggle up with him. But, as attractive as that sounded, he knew it was out of question. He still had a lot to figure out before he could make any move in that direction.

He was not trying to fool himself anymore: he had feelings for Sam, and they were strong. And judging by the kiss they had shared the night before, so did Sam. Or at least he thought so… because now that he thought about it, maybe Sam had just been driven by the heat of the moment, or the relief that Blaine wasn’t going to go back to Kurt, or maybe he had been just a bit tipsy from his dinner with his workmates and had let himself go… And that was something Blaine wasn’t sure he could survive again, to have a crush on his best friend knowing he was never going to be loved in return.

Stop it, Blaine, he had to tell himself. Just worrying about it wasn’t going to solve anything and Sam should have something to say about it, shouldn’t he? It was probably time for them to sit down and have a deep conversation. But Blaine wasn’t really looking forward to it, considering he didn’t know himself what he felt or, more accurately, where did he want these feelings to take them. He had just gotten out of a very long and serious relationship –well, that had been three months ago, alright, but it was still fresh and oh, by the way, he still had some unfinished matters with Kurt– and was not sure if he wanted or was even ready to immediately jump into another one. He didn’t want Sam to be just a rebound, and he definitely didn’t want to risk losing him if things didn’t go as they expected.

The soft footsteps he heard behind him took him out of his reverie and he breathed deeply a couple of times, trying to calm his nerves and stop his hyperactive thinking. He reminded himself again that this was Sam, and with Sam everything was easy: they would find some answer together and everything would be alright.

“Morning, B” Sam greeted him with a sweet smile, and he just stopped in front of Blaine for a second to run his knuckles along the smaller’s boy cheek in a tender gesture, before he went to the counter to serve himself some of the breakfast Blaine had prepared for the both of them.

Okay, Blaine thought. What did that mean? Sam had not kissed him or called him any pet name or something that gave away he thought they were already on a relationship after last night’s kiss. But that caress? Not entirely inappropriate but not entirely just-friendly either, right? Great, Sam, couldn’t he stop playing with his mind before he himself could understand what was happening?

“Do you have any plans for tonight?” Sam asked him, looking intently at him while waiting for an answer, and Blaine realized he had probably been speaking for a while now. “Because I thought we could have dinner together”

“You mean, like practically every night?” Blaine answered, hoping he had sounded casual and not as terrified as he felt.

“Yes, but… we should have a talk, maybe” And there it was. There was no escaping now, so better get it over with. If he had to be honest with himself, apart from terrified he was feeling a little excited about it too.

“Yeah, we should” Blaine agreed, calming now that the decision had been done. “So dinner it is. I’ll probably be a little later than usual this evening, though. I’m going over to Kurt’s to speak to him. I don’t want to delay it any longer”

“Are you going to be okay?” Sam asked, genuinely worried, and it warmed Blaine’s heart so much that he couldn’t help but smile.

“Yes. It’s not going to be pleasant and I’m probably going to hate myself for hurting him, but I know it’s what I have to do” he explained, being completely honest. “But maybe I could use some company later” he asked with a pout, that elicited a chuckle from his friend.

“Of course” Sam assured him.

“And some cuddling”

“Obviously”

“Maybe we could…” Blaine stopped himself mischievously, knowing what Sam’s answer was going to be to his request.

“What?”

“Watch _The sound of music_ when I get back?”

“Really? Again?” Sam exclaimed, in mock horror.

“You know it’s my comfort movie!” Blaine protested with puppy eyes, knowing it was just something Sam had never been able to resist. “We can even sing along if you feel up to it”

“Alright, alright” Sam relented raising his hands in surrender as Blaine laughed and stood up to start cleaning up. “So a bunch of kids dressed with curtains and singing in the mountains again. Great. You’re lucky I love you”

Sam had meant that as a joke, but he immediately blushed as an awkward silence fell between them at the implications of his words.

“I know I am” Blaine finally said, now he being the one to blush, but he moved to the door to start gathering his stuff just so he would have something to do. “So I’ll see you tonight, right?” he said, and when he turned around to say goodbye he jumped in fright at seeing Sam was already standing next to him.

“I can hardly wait” Sam gathered the courage to say, and even kissed Blaine’s cheek seductively –or at least, that was what he was going for– before the other one had the chance to run –which was absolutely what he wanted to do.

Once Blaine left for class, his cheeks terribly flushed, Sam had to restrain not to hit himself on his forehead with the palm of his hand at how silly and inappropriate and out of place he had acted. What was that? He kept doing moves towards Blaine so he would get how much he wanted him, but they were all so blunt and clumsy that he was making Blaine uncomfortable instead of interested. He already knew Blaine was at least a bit into it –Sam was not pretending he had chosen him over Kurt, Kurt had gotten himself out of the picture on his own, but that kiss had to mean something, right?– so why couldn’t he just act naturally about it and put his feelings into words instead of embarrassing himself?

But he was going to do it right. Conquering Blaine’s heart was too important for him to just screw it up with his usual silliness. He was going to make something special for tonight. He was even going to cook –even if he didn’t know where that would lead him!–. And then, if Blaine was in a sad mood after dumping Kurt –which could happen, given how compassionate Blaine’s heart was–, then he would be rewarded with a nice dinner and the company of a best friend that adored him and he would feel better.

But if Blaine was not feeling bad after Kurt’s conversation, and Sam could see he was in a good mood, then he would turn the whole plan into some kind of date. He would light on some candles and make a playlist on his ipod with some Phil Collins ballads –yeah, that was playing dirty considering it was one of Blaine’s guilty pleasures, but so what if it was–. They would talk while they ate and Sam would make sure once and for all that Blaine knew how much he really loved him. Then hopefully they would kiss again and, if Blaine still wanted, they would watch _The sound of music_ together –while cuddling, obviously– because yeah, who was he trying to kid, he wasn’t going to be able to deny him anything from then on. Not that he really cared too much about that, though. He would happy to do anything Blaine asked him for the rest of his lives just as long as they were together.

So now that everything was planned, he hurried to get dressed so he could go and buy everything he would need for his romantic dinner before he got into work. That way, he could go back home immediately after leaving the office and have it all ready by the time Blaine arrived after his meeting with Kurt and surprise him. It was the perfect plan!

**********

To say it had been hard going through his classes for the day knowing the emotional rollercoaster waiting for him in the second part of the day was saying little, Blaine thought. He hadn’t had the time to think, so he was pretty much clueless about what he was going to say to Sam once they talked about… about whatever they were going to talk. Would Sam be asking him out? Would he just ask him about his feelings and suggest for them to see where they would take them? Or maybe Sam would just ask him what he hell had that kiss been about?

He didn’t have an answer to any of those questions. What was he supposed to say? “Sorry, Sam, but I have no idea what I want right now?” Well, yes, Blaine decided. He had always been able to talk to Sam about absolutely everything, and Sam had always helped him figure out things even he couldn’t understand. So maybe that was it: he would expose his insecurities to Sam and he would understand –he always did– and maybe they could figure out what they wanted together. Well, if that was what Sam felt, of course, because he still wasn’t sure about how deep the blond’s feelings were.

And maybe, after that they could watch a movie – _The sound of music_ , obviously, as if Sam was going to deny him that– as they cuddled in the sofa. And maybe, just maybe, Blaine wouldn’t oppose to some kissing. Kissing would be nice. As long as they decided there was going to be something between them, of course. He didn’t want a friends-with-benefits kind of relationship with Sam. God, it was all so complicated.

But he had to face another serious conversation first, with Kurt, and he was a little ashamed to admit he hadn’t been giving it so much thought as he should. After all, he was going to break the heart of the person he had loved for six years –yes, Kurt had broken his first, but whatever–. He had promised Kurt that he would think about his proposal of getting back together, and he had, but he doubted Kurt would be expecting an answer only the next day. But well, he was not going to change his opinion, so better get it over with as soon as possible. So Blaine thought it would be better to talk to him at his place –which would provide some necessary privacy–, and was on his way there even if he hadn’t texted Kurt to say he was.

All in all, his head and his heart were quite a blur of mixed feelings at the moment and he was so distracted that he was hardly aware of the world going around him as he walked down Kurt’s street.

**********

Sam smiled to himself when he arrived to the apartment and he made sure that, indeed, Blaine had not arrived yet, nor he expected him to for a while. Great, that left time enough to get everything he had in mind ready and perfect for when Blaine arrived. It was actually the first time Sam was daring to hope something could happen between him and Blaine, after loving him in silence for so long. And his heart was beating so fast he didn’t know if he was going to make it until dinner. He hoped so.

He left the flowers he had bought for his friend –possibly something more in a few hours– in the counter and ran to his laptop to print the recipe of the dish he had chosen to make for Blaine. He felt so confident today that he was sure he would make the most wonderful dinner ever –or the most wonderful dinner he was actually able to prepare–, and Blaine would appreciate his effort so much that his heart would already be soft and ready to take Sam in once he told him how he felt.

When everything was ready in the kitchen and the dinner was already in the oven, he started dressing the table –the one on the living room, of course, not the one in the kitchen where they usually ate– with a beautiful tablecloth he had been unable to resist buying on his way home. He set plates, cutlery and napkins on the table and even a couple of fancy glasses for the wine he had bought. He wondered about lighting candles all around the apartment –he knew Blaine was so into the romantic lightning of candles–, but he thought it would be too obvious and more than a little awkward if Blaine was sad about having just dumped Kurt and he was not in the mood for a real date. So at the end Sam decided to place only one candle on the table, in between them, so it was nice but not too pretentious.

And now he just had to get the food out of the oven and wait for his… date?... to arrive.

**********

All the happiness and excitement that had guided Sam into carrying out all of his plans were gone when it was almost midnight and Blaine had yet to arrive. The dinner was more than cold now, just as much as Sam’s spirit, and there was still no sign of him. He had tried calling him like ten times, but his calls were sent straight into voicemail, and Sam didn’t know if he should feel worried, angry or sad anymore. He looked through the window and thought how well the pouring rain matched his mood at the moment.

He had not been expecting that, obviously. Not only Blaine always warned him with a text if he was going to be late –he knew Sam worried if he didn’t– and today he hadn’t, but the thing was that they had plans. It was practically a date, for God’s sake! After what happened last night, and the awkwardly wonderful breakfast that same morning, Sam knew it was impossible that Blaine had just forgotten about it. Sam had felt it was as important to Blaine as it was to him to define their situation and, well, be together. Sam didn’t know under which circumstances  –as friends or as something more– but definitely together.

So there was only one explanation: Blaine was still at Kurt’s. Maybe even staying there for the night. Whether it was because Kurt was very upset and Blaine was too kind-hearted to leave him alone or because… something else had happened, Sam didn’t know. Maybe Blaine had been too quick to assume he didn’t feel anything for him anymore and he had fallen in the trap again. Maybe Kurt had manipulated him into giving them a try after all, he was good at that. Sam didn’t even want to think what they could be doing in that same moment.

So with a heavy heart and eyes stinging with tears he refused to shed, Sam blew up the candle in front of him, put the flowers in a vase with some water so they wouldn’t die, and went to bed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know, I know... Please, don't hate me yet! Wait until the next chapter at least! :)


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So let me make a little note about this chapter. I've tried to stay more or less true to the main plot of the series, except for the obvious fact that Sam never went back to Lima once in New York and moved to an apartment with Blaine (and maybe some other facts I haven't realized). But in this chapter, Finn is in the story. I know this is a total licence I'm taking but well, in my heart Finn will always be there with them, so humor me in this, please. ;)

Sam suddenly jolted awake, and he needed more than a couple of seconds to get his breathing under control. He wondered if he had been having a nightmare –though he didn’t remember–, just so there was something to justify the feeling of dread that was tightening his chest. As there was already enough light seeping through the curtains in his window, he looked down at his watch –Blaine’s gift, he remembered– and noticed it was only five minutes until his alarm clock went off, so he decided to get up.

Everything in the living room was exactly as he had left it the night before, and his sadness was renewed at seeing the still set table. It was funny how, although everything was exactly the same, nothing felt as beautiful or magical as it had felt the night before. Only a table for two with a posh tablecloth and a spent candle. Now it only seemed as a pathetic attempt of achieving something that was way out of his league.

He went to Blaine’s room, almost as if he didn’t really believe he had failed to be back for the night. What if he had sneaked back while Sam was already asleep? Maybe now he was just running, like he did every morning. Maybe he would even be still sleeping.

The untouched bed, though, quickly put Sam out of any doubt. Blaine had not been there.

But something got Sam’s attention before he turned to leave the room: on Blaine’s desk there were some music sheets, neatly stapled and folded in a protective plastic and with Blaine’s name and handwriting in them. Sam knew what those were: it was a project he had been working on for weeks, some homework from his composition class at NYADA. He had told Sam that this was the most important project he had ever had, that his grades on that subject and therefore his whole degree depended on it. Sam knew today was supposed to be the day when he had to hand it in. And he hadn’t come to pick it up.

The anxiety Sam had felt at waking up suddenly filled his chest again. Whatever had happened with Kurt the night before, Blaine was the most responsible and sensible person he had ever met and he would have never forgotten about something that could jeopardize his future like that. In normal circumstances, not even an earthquake would have stopped him from at least doing the walk of shame and coming back in the morning to pick it up before class.

Sam ran to grab his phone to check it, hoping that Blaine would have seen all his calls from last night and tried to reach him as he slept. But no, no missed calls or messages were displayed on its screen. But he had to try, once again, so he pressed the button of Blaine’s speed dial and brought the phone to his ear. Much to his dismay, the call went directly to voicemail once again, and he slapped his own thigh in frustration. The next step would be to call Kurt; Sam didn’t feel like talking to him at all, but he would probably know where the hell Blaine was, so he decided to swallow his pride and dialed Kurt’s number. Good, at least on this one he could hear it ring. Pick it up, come on, Sam urged the phone, but after some beeps the line went off.

He tried three or four times more before he desisted, each time feeling less angry and more worried. What if something had happened? What if he had been too quick to assume Blaine was not coming back home on his own decision? He needed to find out, whatever it took, so he quickly got dressed, he carefully put Blaine’s music project on his bag, and left the apartment.

**********

He wasn’t sure he was ringing the bell on the right apartment, Sam thought as he stood at the door of Kurt’s building. He had only been to Kurt’s apartment once or twice and he didn’t remember exactly which floor did he live in. No one had answered in the one he was ringing, but what if it wasn’t the right one?

He knew who might know, though: Finn. Kurt’s brother had to know where he lived, right? Why hadn’t he thought about that before? Once again he took his phone out and called Finn, and he thought he was going to cry in relief when this time there was someone at the other end of the line.

“Hello?” Finn answered.

“Finn? Hi, it’s Sam” Sam started talking in a rush, not even giving Finn time to answer. “I know it’s strange for me to call you and ask you that, but you don’t happen to know where Kurt might be? I can’t reach Blaine on the phone, and he didn’t come home last night. I think he might have been with Kurt so I’m at his building, but there’s no one here, or maybe I’m not ringing in the right apartment, I don’t know, and I’m starting to get really worried about Blaine…”

“What? You mean… you don’t know?” Finn asked, sounding clearly surprised and confused.

“Know what?” Sam asked, almost paralyzed by a sudden fear. “What happened?”

“I’m so sorry I didn’t tell you sooner, man, but I thought Kurt would have called you…” Finn mumbled, but Sam didn’t want to hear any apologies.

“Finn, please!” Sam interrupted him, almost shouting. “What happened?”

“Blaine was in… an accident yesterday evening. He was kind of knocked down by a cab”

“Oh my God” Sam exclaimed, his eyes immediately filling with tears as his heart beat like crazy. His hands were trembling quite intensely, but he managed to keep hold on the phone. “Is he… how is he?”

“Well, he’s still in the hospital, for what I know he’s pretty battered, though it could have been worse. You should call Kurt, he knows more than I do”

“No, I’m going there” Sam answered, his voice shaking in anguish but leaving out the fact he had already been calling Kurt and gotten no answer.

“Wait” Finn offered, understanding Sam’s state. “I was out of town when Kurt called me and I’m on my way there from the airport right now. Let me pick you up and we’ll go together. You said you were at Kurt’s, right? I’ll be there in ten minutes”

“Thanks, Finn” Sam answered honestly.

“Don’t mention it”

“Hurry up, please”

**********

Finn had filled him in about Blaine’s condition in the car, though he had not seen him yet either so he didn’t have all the information. It had helped to calm Sam down a little, knowing Blaine was out of danger, but it could nothing to diminish the apprehension he felt as he rested his hand on the handle of the door to the hospital room Blaine had been assigned to. Finn, noticing his hesitation, rested his hand between Sam’s shoulders, trying to give him some courage. After all, he had been a witness of the chemistry and shenanigans of those too for years, and he could understand the boy’s uneasiness.

“Come on” Finn encouraged him, and Sam only nodded as an answer and finally pushed the door open.

“Blaine” Sam whispered with a broken voice as soon as he saw his friend, not noticing everything or everyone else in the room. Blaine was unconscious –or asleep, Sam wasn’t sure– and he seemed even smaller than he really was, lost in the big hospital bed, making him look so vulnerable it almost hurt.

Sam approached the bed, almost too afraid of what he would find, but once he could see Blaine more closely, he could breathe a little easier. Yes, it was true that there were some visible injuries –Blaine’s right cheek was quite scratched and a dark bruise had formed on the right side of his forehead, plus one of his arms was in a sling–, and Sam was sure there were other injuries he could not see under the hospital gown he was wearing –Finn had talked about broken ribs on their way to the hospital–. But Sam had been expecting beeping machines or respirators, or any other scary thing he was not sure to be ready for. Fortunately, he only had an IV on his good arm for medication, and Sam could do with that. And Blaine’s face looked so peaceful and pain-free… But the vulnerability still seemed so present that Sam still felt afraid to touch him, though, as if he could hurt him just with his contact. He only allowed himself to brush his fingers along Blaine’s good hand, lying on his chest. But he could still watch him. No one was going to deny him that any longer.

He was so absorbed in Blaine that he failed to notice Kurt sitting on a chair at the other side of the bed. Kurt, though, was very aware –and surprised– at Sam’s sudden apparition.

“Sam!” he exclaimed in a soft voice, not wanting to disturb Blaine’s sleep but clearly confused at Sam’s presence.

“How is he?” Sam answered, ignoring his urges to reproach and verbally attack Kurt for not calling him sooner. Blaine was the important thing now, and he needed to know how he was.

“He’s alright” Kurt answered, shortly.

“Could you please give him more details, Kurt?” Finn asked from the door, and Kurt could immediately see his brother was not happy at him either. “I explained everything I know to him, but I’m sure you have more information. It’s the least you can do after _forgetting_ to call him”

“Well, at first they were a bit worried about his concussion, he seemed to receive a big blow to his head, but they made a scan and there didn’t seem to be any complications. They have been awakening him every few hours to see everything’s alright, and he was very confused because of the blow and the pain medication, asking what had happened every time, but the doctor said that was normal and he should be better soon. He also has a broken arm and a couple of broken ribs. He needs to be careful with those, or he could puncture a lung. I know it sounds like a lot, but with the necessary rest and care, he should be fine in no time”

“So he’s… alright?” Sam asked, feeling the sting of tears in his eyes now the rush of adrenalin was settling at seeing for himself that Blaine was going to make it.

“Yes, Sam, I already told you” Kurt answered with a hint of exasperation.

“Well, forgive me for being scared” Sam answered, using his anger towards Kurt to keep other feelings under control. “Maybe if you had called me from the beginning, I would have had time to come to terms with everything”

“I was here for him, right? He was not alone. I don’t see why I should have called you” Kurt replied in an impertinent voice.

“Are you really telling me that?” Sam couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You called Finn!”

“Because he’s my brother and I needed the support”

“Maybe if you had called Sam, you could have supported each other” Finn interjected, and he was surprised when both Sam and Kurt snorted at that.

“Somehow I didn’t see that happening” Kurt answered sarcastically, and Sam could see that Kurt remembered their last conversation at vogue after the breakup as well as he did.

“Even then, you had no right to keep me out of this!” Sam was almost cursing under his breath to keep himself from yelling and disturbing Blaine’s sleep.

“And why should have I let you in? You’re no family, nor his partner”

“But I’m his best friend! I’m his roommate, for God’s sake, you thought I wasn’t going to notice when he didn’t show up for days? You really thought I would just let it go and forget about him?”

“I’ll tell you again, Sam, as you seem to have some trouble understanding it” Kurt replied, pointing at Sam with his finger, and the blond had never felt like hitting someone as he did in that moment. “There is no reason for you to be here, you’re not related to him in any way”

“You know how I feel about him!” Sam exclaimed before he was even aware of it.

“Oh yeah? And what do you feel about him, Sam? Mind to share?” Kurt sarcastically replied, daring him to confess his feelings for the injured man in front of Finn.

“You want me to deny what we both know?” Sam asked, once again unable to deny his love for Blaine, as he had felt at their last conversation.

“What do you mean?” Finn intervened, not really understanding what was happening.

“He’s in love with Blaine. He’s been in love with him for who knows how long” Kurt explained, sighing loudly to show how disgusted he was at Sam’s feelings.

“Is that true?” Finn asked, astounded. Yeah, Sam and Blaine were… well, Sam and Blaine, thick as thieves, but love…

“Yes, it is” Sam confessed, with more than a hint of pride, but then he turned to Kurt again; their conversation was far from over. “But I’ve never, and I mean never, tried to interfere between you two. I’ve kept my feelings to myself while you were together for his sake”

“Then what are you doing here?” Kurt insisted, and Sam brought his hands to his face in frustration at Kurt’s nerve.

“That doesn’t mean I’m not supposed to care about him! Even if he doesn’t know I love him, he knows he’s my best friend, he knows how much I care about him! And by the way, why am I giving you any explanations?” Sam suddenly laughed, though there was no trace of humor in his voice. “It’s you who isn’t related to him in any way. You broke up with him and haven’t talked to him for months, for God’s sake! It’s you who shouldn’t be here”

“Oh yeah? And then why is it me his emergency contact? Because I don’t remember the hospital calling you to tell you what happened”

“Do you know why you’re his emergency contact? Because he was so down and depressed because of how you dumped him that he didn’t have the energy to do much for a while, let alone think about changing your stupid name on his insurance. But when he wakes up, don’t expect him to ask for you, you insensitive asshole” Sam couldn’t stop himself from insulting Kurt any longer. It was either that or punching him, so he went for the first one.

“Oh really? Do you know where he was when he had that accident? He was on my street! He was coming to see me!” There was so much smugness on Kurt’s expression that Sam couldn’t restrain himself any longer.

“To tell you he doesn’t love you anymore!” Those angry words spurted out of Sam’s mouth before he was able to stop them, and he immediately regretted not letting Blaine tell him that himself. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have told you that” he apologized, his tone changing immediately to a soft and repentant whisper. “That’s a private conversation between you and Blaine. I’m really sorry”

“I don’t believe you” Kurt answered, his eyes burning with anger, and Sam could see he really didn’t want to believe his words. “You’re just saying that because you don’t want me to get back together with Blaine, because you want him all to yourself”

“I’m not going to keep arguing about this with you, Kurt” Sam replied, his calm voice not belying the turmoil going on inside of his head. “Blaine is not a trophy, and it’s just up to him to decide what he wants. I just want to be here for him, for when he wakes up”

“We’ll see about that. As his emergency contact, you know I can make them throw you out of here, right?” Kurt threatened, but his brother had clearly had enough and threw him a dark glare that even Kurt couldn’t ignore.

“You won’t do that” Finn intervened, the tone of his voice making it clear he was not going to tolerate such a behavior, even if it came from his brother. “You both better get comfortable, as it looks like we’re going to stay here for a long time”

**********

The tension in the room was palpable as hours went by. Kurt had resumed his place on the chair next to Blaine’s bed; Sam had contemplated moving his chair to the other side of the bed, but he refused to play Kurt’s game and was sitting next to the wall, obviously keeping Blaine’s face in sight to be aware of any possible discomfort or to notice when he woke up. At midday, Finn had considered going to the cafeteria to have lunch, but he didn’t feel comfortable leaving the other two unsupervised, after the previous fight they had caught up in, so he contented with running to the cafeteria, buying sandwiches for everybody and return to the room as soon as possible.

The afternoon came and went in pretty much the same way. Few words were exchanged between the three of them while Blaine slept –the nurse had said they didn’t need to keep awakening him anymore and that it would be better if he could get all the rest he needed–, and pretty much all of them came from Finn’s mouth, as the other two kept a silent war and were lost in their own minds. The only movement in the room was a moment Sam went outside to call Blaine’s brother and inform him of the situation –after discovering that Kurt had also _forgotten_ to call him– and his own boss, to ask for some days off as he had no intention of spending even a few hours away from Blaine until he was sure he was alright.

Just a little while after Sam returned to the room and sat on his chair again, he noticed Blaine’s eyebrows twitching, and even before Sam could say anything about it, Blaine moaned and Kurt was immediately all over him.

“Blaine?” he called, softly, trying not to scare the still oblivious boy.

“Hmmm?” Blaine asked without words, and the other three men in the room stood up, quiet, waiting for the injured man to speak.

“I’m here, Blaine” Kurt whispered, resting his hand in Blaine’s shoulder, and it irritated Sam to a big extent the fact that he would assume that Blaine was asking for him so easily.

“Sam?” Blaine whispered in his confusion, so softly that Kurt wondered if Sam had heard. But judging by how quickly he crossed the room and was instantly at Blaine’s side, he had heard alright.

Kurt, fuming, looked at Sam’s face, expecting to see a smirk on his face to show Kurt he had won that round, but nothing further from the truth. It was clear that for Sam, from the moment Blaine had called his name, there was no one else in the room. He picked Blaine’s uninjured hand in his own larger one, and his other hand was gently stroking the curls that fell on the brunet’s forehead, as if all fear of touching him had disappeared from the moment Blaine called for him. But it was his eyes that surprised Kurt the most: they were looking adoringly at Blaine as if he was his whole universe, as if Sam was terrified of just imagining a life without the smaller boy.

“I’m here, buddy” Sam whispered, bending over him a little to speak closer to Blaine’s ear, and there was so much love in his voice that Kurt wondered how Blaine could have been oblivious to it for so long. “I’ve got you”

“What happened?” Blaine asked, his voice hoarse from the lack of use.

“Somehow you managed to get run by a cab. You don’t remember?”

“No” Blaine denied, still not daring to open his eyes, but becoming increasingly more aware of his surroundings.

“Well, the doctors said you probably wouldn’t because of the concussion you have, so don’t worry about it. You’re pretty banged up, but the doctors said you’ll be right as rain in no time”

Blaine took his time to try and understand what Sam had said –his mind felt like it was covered with some kind of fog that blurred his thinking– and then, tired of being in the same position, he tried to turn around, only to have a blinding pain protesting on his middle, which made him wince quite loudly in the quiet room.

“Easy, B” Sam pleaded, resting a gentle hand on Blaine’s chest as a petition for him not to move. “You’ve got some busted ribs, you need to be careful”

“It hurts” Blaine whispered, and Sam’s heart went to him as he tried not to shed any of the tears he could feel breaking beside his eyelids at the obvious suffering of his friend, especially when he noticed Blaine was finally opening his eyes and he did seem to have some problem in focusing his gaze.

“How are you feeling?” Sam asked, cupping Blaine’s cheek –the one that didn’t have the scratches– as he noticed Blaine trying to fix his gaze on him.

“My head feels like is going to explode” Blaine explained pitifully, and when he tried to bring his arm to shield his eyes from the light he found it was immobilized.

“Your arm is broken” Sam explained understandingly, noticing every little move Blaine tried to do, and switched off the light immediately above Blaine’s head, gesturing for Kurt to close the curtains, while his other hand moved up and down the uninjured man’s arm, leaving gentle caresses attempting for comfort. “I’ll get the nurse to see if they can do anything about your pain”

“No” Blaine said a little louder than intended, resulting in a wince at the extra pain it provoked in his head, and Sam immediately started petting the top of his head again as he shushed him to try and keep him calm. “Don’t go”

“I’ll be back in a minute” Sam answered sweetly, trying to ignore how scared Blaine looked, and how especial it made him feel that only his presence would reassure him.

“Please” the grip Blaine kept on his hand was surprisingly strong for someone so weak, and Sam didn’t have the heart to move even an inch from him.

“I’ll go, you stay with him” Finn offered, and Sam sent him a grateful smile before he was out of the door.

Sam observed that Blaine’s eyes were closed again, but he could tell it was only to keep the headache at bay and he was not asleep, so he kept talking to him, wanting him to forget about the pain and to feel he was not alone.

“So now I see you’re alright, do I get to admonish you for the fright you’ve given me?” Sam joked, keeping Blaine’s hand in between both of his and rubbing his thumb along his knuckles.

“No” Blaine answered, and Sam could see Blaine wanted to say more, wanted to joke back and keep a light atmosphere, but it was too difficult for him to put the necessary words together or to even say them, because of the confusion and the pain in his head. So Sam still laughed, and was happy to elicit a tiny smile on Blaine’s lips.

“Ok, but you don’t get to scare me like this ever again, is that understood?” Sam continued, only half joking this time.

“I’m sorry” Blaine whispered, feeling genuinely guilty, and he even dared to open his eyes into a tiny crack to check for himself that Sam wasn’t really angry.

“It’s okay” Sam reassured him with a soft caress to his cheek. “I’ll forgive you if you promise to behave so we can get out of the hospital as soon as possible. How does that sound?”

“Great” Blaine answered, still smiling.

“I can’t wait for us to be home” Sam went on. “We have to watch _Breaking Bad_ ’s last season, right? They say it’s the best one”

“Can we go now?” Blaine asked with a pout, already knowing what the answer was going to be.

“Not yet, bud” Sam answered with a fond chuckle, “but I’m sure they’ll let us out soon”

Kurt felt almost as an intruder watching the interaction between the two friends, who had all but forgotten about his presence right at the other side of the bed, involved as they were on their own private world. Even before he broke up with Blaine, it had been a really long time since they had felt that comfortable with each other, since they’ve been able to block everything around them like that just to be able to concentrate on each other. And Kurt realized that was what he missed the most, and for what he would give anything to win back.

And the fact Sam kept talking about _we_ and _us_ , and Blaine just accepted it as fact, made Kurt’s inside churn with jealousy. Blaine was supposed to be one half of Kurt’s _we_ , not Sam’s. He was not supposed to feel that comfortable with the fact that Sam made everything about the two of them. But maybe that was why Blaine has asked for Sam instead of him? Or why he had been so reluctant to give Kurt another chance the other day? Because, now that he thought about it, in their relationship it wasn’t so much a _we_ as a _me while you tag along_. He realized now that he had been selfish with Blaine in a lot of aspects, and now it may be too long to change that because Sam had given him what he needed from the beginning. And whether Blaine returned Sam’s feelings or not –which he honestly didn’t know–, their closeness and understanding of each other were always going to be there, and comparisons were inevitable. Kurt could have kicked his own shin at realizing he had finally understood what was going on when it was probably too late to do anything about it.

His thoughts were interrupted as a nurse made her way in the room and to Blaine’s bed with Finn close at her heels. She seemed quite nice and careful as she made Blaine some questions –which he politely answered but only in monosyllables– and finally she took the drip and added the pain medication that the doctors had prescribed in case he needed it.

 _“_ Boys” the nurse said, this time directed to the visitors. “I’m sorry, but visiting hours are about to be over and only one of you can stay for the night. Not that he really needs anyone to stay, we can take care of this cutie for you” She said with a smile, trying to lighten the atmosphere a little, and she could see the blond guy seemed to agree with her observation, judging by the nod of his head.

“No, we’re not leaving him here alone. I’ll stay with him” Sam immediately offered, returning to Blaine’s side to pick up his hand as soon as the nurse gave him room for that.

“No, I can stay” Kurt immediately offered to, not about to let himself be relieved as Blaine’s guardian. “I can ask for a day off tomorrow, it’s no problem”

“Well, that’s for you to decide, but remember: only one” the nurse kindly reminded them as she finally left them.

“So who is…?” Finn was going to ask, but Blaine interrupted before he could even finish.

“Can Sam stay?” Blaine’s soft voice, almost inaudible, interrupted the discussion they all knew was coming.

“Of course I’ll stay” Sam assured him, surprised Blaine had even been following the conversation, but incredibly touched that it was him Blaine wanted and needed in times of trouble. “As if I could just leave you here like that” he reassured him, sitting on the edge of the bed, facing his friend.

“Thanks” Blaine answered with another small smile, and Sam could see he was already exhausted and trying not to fall asleep on him.

“Stop fighting it, you can go back to sleep now” Sam told him with a chuckle, bringing his hand to the curls falling on Blaine’s forehead to lovingly get them out of the way. “I’ll be here when you wake up”

“Do you promise?” Blaine asked, sounding so vulnerable that it almost broke Sam’s heart all over again.

“I promise” Sam whispered back, and was glad that Blaine had relaxed enough to finally close his eyes and lose himself in a world of pain-free sleep.

Kurt sighed in defeat, as he started gathering his belongings to leave for the night, as it was Blaine’s request. He knew the injured boy was not intentionally trying to hurt him, but that hurt him even further. Because when Blaine was harmed and weak and scared he had asked for Sam, not for him. Kurt was not his comfort and protection source anymore; Sam was. And he knew Sam was more than willing to provide all that for him. Kurt doubted there was a way to change that.

“I’ll try to come back tomorrow” he announced, not really sure who he was talking to. “I’ll bring him some gel, he must be desperate to get some” Kurt explained with a fond smile as he caressed Blaine’s hair –something that made Sam’s stomach churn, because he didn’t feel Kurt was allowed to do that anymore. But he technically wasn’t either and he had been doing it himself, so he didn’t say anything.

“He’s not using it anymore” Sam informed him.

“Really?” Kurt asked, obviously very surprised.

“Yeah, he stopped using it months ago. Why, do you think he should?” Sam asked, suddenly being on the defensive, as if Kurt was trying again to dictate what was best for Blaine.

“No!” Kurt quickly denied. “No, I mean… I wanted to bring it for him, in case he… felt more comfortable with it”

“There are a lot of things that don’t feel comfortable to him anymore” Sam told him knowingly, involuntarily looking at Kurt’s hand, still on Blaine’s hair, which made Kurt retreat it as if suddenly it burned.

“Yeah, I can see that” Kurt sarcastically replied, beginning to be a bit tired of Sam questioning everything he said or done. Though, after not having called him when Blaine was injured, he could honestly understand why he was being so nasty to him.

“You saw him the other day, how did you not notice?” Sam asked.

“It was pouring, and he was soaked to the cord. He doesn’t like umbrellas, you know?”

“Yeah, I know. He doesn’t even have one. He keeps losing them, I think he just does it on purpose” Sam fondly replied and, for a second, they both felt somehow connected in the love they both shared for the sleeping boy in the bed.

“Come on, Kurt, I’ll take you home” Finn offered.

“Please call me if…” Kurt was saying, but suddenly Sam interrupted him.

“Oh my God!” Sam suddenly exclaimed.

“What?” Kurt asked, slightly worried.

“I just remembered. Kurt, could you…”

“What?” Kurt insisted.

“I was wondering if you could pop into NYADA on your way home and see if there is someone there yet” Sam explained. “Blaine had to give in a very important project today for his composition class and well…”

Kurt, still feeling pretty angry and humiliated about everything that had taken place in the last hour, was just about to say no, but one look at Blaine’s sleeping form made him sigh in resignation. Of course he had to do it: hadn’t he promised to Blaine only two days ago that he would do anything for him? It was not a favor he was doing for Sam, even if he was the one asking it; this was for Blaine, and it was something too important for him just to refuse.

“Alright, I’ll see what I can do. Is it at your place or…?”

“No, I have it right here” Sam said as he took the folder out of his bag and handed it to Kurt. “Thank you, Kurt”

“Don’t thank me, I’m only doing this for him” Kurt bitterly said, and suddenly there was a pain in his voice that made Sam understand that Kurt, in spite of how selfish and egocentric he seemed to be, really loved Blaine in his own way. And, for the first time, from the position that gave him having their rolls reversed and now him being the one in Blaine’s heart, seeing Kurt leaving the room totally dejected, Sam felt pity for him.


	10. Chapter 10

Sam remained sitting on the edge of Blaine’s bed, just looking at him and idly playing with Blaine’s untamable curls, for a long while after he fell asleep and Kurt and Finn were long gone. He couldn’t seem to be able to physically separate from the smaller boy, almost as if he was afraid that Blaine would disappear if he lost the contact with him.

There was so much going on in his head… First of all, the remains of the awful and very real fear of losing him that had filled his heart when Finn had told him about Blaine’s accident; there was also some guilt after doubting Blaine the night before and thinking he had fallen in Kurt’s trap when he had assured him he was not going to; and last, but not least, a strange excitement about how Blaine had only asked for him in his confusion and pain –even with Kurt being there too– and how he had not calmed down until Sam had promised to not leave him. It felt weird to be excited about something in a time like this, but…

There was still something nagging on the back of his mind, though. He knew Blaine had a small amnesia in regards of the accident and the moments prior to that. But how far back did that blank of his memory go? Did he remember he was going to Kurt’s to tell him he didn’t love him when he was knocked down? Did he remember the date –or kind of– he and Sam were supposed to have that evening? Did he even remember about the kiss they had shared the night before, which Sam couldn’t stop thinking about? Of course those were things they needed to talk about, but Blaine was obviously not up to it, so Sam would have to keep wondering about how close they were into taking another step in their relationship for a while yet. At least, he couldn’t help but be comforted by the fact that Blaine had chosen his company over Kurt’s. And no one was going to stop him from taking care of the boy he loved so much for the next few days. Or forever, who knew.

When his neck started cramping from the uncomfortable position, he took a chair and moved it as close as possible to Blaine’s bed, so he could hold his hand while he sat. He looked at Blaine’s hand in his and marveled at how small it felt in his own larger one, much smaller than it really was. It just made Sam want to protect and look after him even more. He knew Blaine was far from being a fragile person who needed to be taken care of –in fact, he was probably the strongest person he had ever known–, but Sam had always felt very protective of him. Perhaps it was because of the long list of people that had failed Blaine all through his life –his parents, his _friends_ from his school prior to Dalton, his beloved warblers who abandoned him in that parking lot after almost blinding him, Sebastian, Kurt– that Sam felt the need of constantly reminding him how important he was and how Sam was always going to be there for him.

Sam didn’t realize he had fallen asleep until he was awoken by the weak movement of Blaine’s hand, still in his. They were in almost complete darkness –with only some moonlight seeping through the curtains–, but it was enough for Sam to see in his watch that it was close to three in the morning. The sound of Blaine’s pitiful moaning and a loud rustling of sheets immediately alerted Sam that Blaine was trying to get up.

“Blaine, what are you doing?” Sam whispered as he got up and grabbed Blaine’s arms to stop him. The darkness of the room made it more difficult to know what was happening, and the hiss coming from Blaine could only mean he was hurting his ribs with all the movement, so Sam let go of him with one hand and switched on the light above Blaine’s bed. The loud whine his gesture elicited told him immediately he had made a mistake.

“Turn it off” Blaine begged with tears in his eyes. “It hurts so much, please, turn it off!”

“I’m sorry, B, I’m so sorry” Sam immediately apologized as he obeyed Blaine’s plea. “See, it’s off, it can’t hurt you anymore, but now you need to lie down” Sam was gentle but firm as he maneuvered Blaine to lie down on his back again, though he was glad not to meet any resistance. “Where did you think you were going anyway?”

“I don’t know” Blaine answered in a whisper, starting to feel more connected to reality than a minute before.

“Easy, B. I think you were only a bit disoriented because of the concussion” Sam tried to comfort him.

“I guess. I woke up and everything hurt, and then I didn’t know where I was, and I was alone…”

“But you weren’t, see?” Sam patiently explaining, gently squeezing the hand he was again holding in his. “I’m holding your hand. I’m here, Blaine. I promised I wouldn’t leave you, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, I think I remember that” Blaine answered, and Sam was glad to see he was much more alert and coherent than the last time he was awake.

“Good. I’ll let the nurse know you are awake and in pain”

“But you’ll be back, right?” Blaine asked with a vulnerability in his voice that made Sam only want to embrace him strongly to his chest and keep him protected until the end of time. But since that was out of question due to his injuries, he contented himself with a gentle kiss to Blaine’s temple that elicited a soft sigh from the curly-haired boy.

“I’ll be so quick you won’t even notice I’m gone”

“I might be confused, Sam, but there’s no way I wouldn’t notice your absence”

Not really knowing what to answer to that, because he wasn’t even sure if Blaine was being as coherent as he thought a moment before or was just talking crazy, he gave his hand a last squeeze and went in search of a nurse.

The nurse came and went pretty quickly, once again asking some easy questions to test Blaine’s thinking, and administered more medicine, seeing the pain in the eyes of the cute boy who had already stolen her heart when she had lit the light for a minute to do her job. After that, she just smiled dreamily at both boys –which seemed pretty odd to Sam– and left them alone once again.

“Are we alone?” Blaine asked once Sam found his hand once again, feeling like an anchor with reality to Blaine.

“Yes” Sam answered, confused at the question.

“Kurt didn’t stay?”

“No, there could only be one of us, remember?” Sam answered, worrying that now that Blaine was more alert, he would prefer the presence of his former boyfriend.

“I’m glad you stayed” Blaine answered in a tender whisper, and Sam felt some very real butterflies fluttering in his stomach as if he was a teenager again.

“I know, you asked me to. But I have to say I would have stayed even if you hadn’t”

“I believe you” Blaine answered with a chuckle, that immediately transformed into a wince at the pain it brought to his battered ribs.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked, immediately worried.

“I’m so uncomfortable” Blaine whined. “I can’t keep lying on my back, I need to turn on my side”

“I don’t know, B, I think you’ll only be putting more pressure on your broken ribs”

But Blaine’s frustration kept him from listening to Sam and, before the blond could stop him, he tried to turn around on his own. A pain that felt like the sharpest knife digging in his guts broke in his middle in a way that stole his breath out of him for a moment. He immediately started breathing in shallow and fast inhalations as he tried to control the pain, and it wasn’t much later when pitiful sobs –that went straight to Sam’s heart– mixed with the loud breathing.

“Blaine” it was all Sam could say at his loved one’s pain, neglecting his own tears as he caressed the naked skin on Blaine’s arm, praying for him to focus on his touch instead of the pain.

“Sam, it hurts so much…” Blaine lamented, his voice thick with tears that Sam knew were there even if he couldn’t see them. The pain, the exhaustion and the frustration were deeply affecting the boy, and it broke Sam’s heart not to be able to do anything to help him.

“I know, babe” Sam used a pet name without even being aware of it, but it was so obvious Blaine needed the comfort that none of them found it awkward. “They just gave you some painkillers, but you need to wait just a little longer for them to take effect”

“I’m sorry I’m being such a baby” Blaine lamented, embarrassed by his emotional breakdown, but Sam just shushed him and kept his lovely ministrations along his arm.

“Don’t be ridiculous, that’s why I stayed here, right? To take care of you. I just wish there was something I could do…”

“Could you… talk to me, so I can focus on your voice?” Blaine pleaded, and Sam smiled at his friend –even though he knew he couldn’t see him– grateful for getting a chance to help him in some way.

“Of course” Sam answered, and he decided to sit on the edge of Blaine’s bed again so he could be closer to him and caress the top of his head, letting the soft curls sneak in between his fingers in an intimate way. Maybe Blaine would relax easier this way, Sam hoped. Or, even if not, at least he could get some comfort from Sam’s loving touch. “So the other day I was trying to understand why you love _The Sound of music_ so much, so I was reading about it in the internet and guess what? It’s a real story! Well, of course it’s been changed quite a lot in the movie, but there really was a Maria Von Trapp, can you believe that?”

“Really?” Blaine just said with a wide smile, widely touched by the fact that Sam would know him so well as to choose a topic of conversation that he was sure would comfort him, but even more touched that Sam would do that kind of research just to understand him more completely. Sam knew him practically better than he knew himself and, what he didn’t know, he would take the time and make the effort to learn it.

“I swear! And yes, the Captain had seven children as in the movie, but after marrying Maria they ended up having three more! Can you imagine having ten kids? It’s just crazy, man!”

Blaine kept smiling all through Sam’s enthusiastic explanation, and soon both the medicine and the magical touch of Sam’s fingers on his scalp started making him drowsy again. His eyes closed and his breathing relaxed and, even though Sam noticed, he didn’t stop.

“And they didn’t move to Switzerland like in the movie, but to Italy and from there to America. Can you imagine? Maybe sometimes we’ve passed by one of their grandchildren and we were not even aware of it! All those facts, though, didn’t help me understand why you like the movie so much. I mean, yeah, the kids are nice and it’s funny to sing along with them, but dude, where’s the action? I mean, a movie without superheroes is no movie at all!”

By the light breathing on his friend Sam guessed he had fallen asleep and sighed in relief that at least he was not feeling pain anymore. He didn’t feel like moving yet, though, and he kept caressing and talking to Blaine to just feel that close to him for a little bit longer.

“But it doesn’t really matter that I don’t get it, I promised I’d watch it with you when you came home and so I will. It will just happen with a little delay, that’s all” Sam felt tears coming to his eyes when he thought about the reason for that delay, and how close he had come to not being able to watch _The sound of music_ with Blaine ever again. He furiously dried the tears threatening to fall down his cheeks and he went on, needing to express his feelings even if they weren’t going to be heard. “I was so eager for you to come, you know? I couldn’t wait for us to talk, and have dinner together and see where that would lead us. And when you didn’t come, I was so afraid you had gone back to Kurt. I know you told me you weren’t going to, but I was so afraid Kurt would try to manipulate you to make you feel guilty so you’d give him another chance… And you have such a big heart…”

“It must not be that big, because there is only room for one person in it” Blaine said, his voice slurred with sleep, and Sam was so surprised by the fact he had been at least half listening that he almost fell off the bed.

“Blaine?” Sam dared to ask when he regained his voice after some seconds of silence, but he didn’t get any answer as Blaine was finally asleep. Like, for real.

Sam finally resumed his place on the vacant chair next to Blaine’s bed with a tired sigh, and as he grabbed Blaine’s hand once again and entwined their fingers together, he realized he was not going to sleep anymore because of Blaine’s words and the feeling of dread that had filled his heart at the thought of how close he had been to losing him.

**********

Only some hours later, soon after dawn, Cooper Anderson found the hospital room he had been looking for and entered quietly, a little apprehensive of what he was going to find there. He could immediately spot his kid brother in the hospital bed, fast asleep and with one of his arms in a sling. He looked peaceful and, thankfully, alive, so the fist that had been gripping his heart since Sam called him the afternoon before lessened up a little, finally letting him breathe.

Speaking of Sam, he could see him sitting with his back to him, slumped on a chair impossibly close to the bed and lazily holding Blaine’s good hand, their fingers entwined in a way that looked as if they were pretty comfortable and used to it. Cooper was willing to bet Sam had spent the night there, in addition to all day before. He had to be exhausted.

Cooper coughed lightly to get Sam’s attention, and the blond jumped from his chair in fright, immediately bringing his hands to his face to rub his tired eyes –or to dry some tears, Cooper couldn’t be sure–, but he immediately smiled warmly when he saw who it was.

“Hi, Cooper” he greeted him as he gave him a quick hug.

“Hello, Sam” Cooper answered, retuning the embrace. “Good to see you, although not in these circumstances”

“Yeah, I know what you mean”

“So how is he?” Cooper asked, moving nearer to his brother to look at him, and Sam smiled at how tenderly Cooper cupped his little brother’s cheek and kissed his forehead.

“He is a bit better than when I called you yesterday. His mind is much clearer than it was, though he has terrible headaches when he is awake. His ribs are also very painful, and he is getting very frustrated of being bedridden, you know how he is”

“But he is going to be alright, isn’t he?” Cooper asked, wanting to make sure.

“Yes, yes, he is” Sam was quick to set his friend’s brother mind at rest, trying –and failing– to give him a reassuring smile. “He just needs some time, but he’ll make a full recovery”

“Sam, you’re not hiding anything from me, right? He is really going to be okay?” Cooper asked, noticing how shaken Sam looked.

“Yes, of course. He’s in a lot of pain but it’s not life-threatening. He won’t have any consequences of the accident… well, except for a small amnesia about the moments prior to the accident, though I’m not sure that is a bad thing, really”

“So why do you seem so upset, if he’s going to be alright?” Cooper asked, looking intently at him as the blond took a second to answer.

“I don’t know… but he’s had a pretty rough night and seeing him in such pain… I guess I’ve had too much time to think here, and I got a little carried away thinking of what could have happened and how all this could have ended very differently”

Cooper looked at him and sadly smiled in understanding. He liked Sam, and it was not nice seeing someone who was usually so cheerful and positive looking this distressed, so he put a comforting hand on Sam’s shoulder and rubbed it for a second.

“Let’s just be grateful it didn’t” Cooper answered.

“I’m sorry, Coop, Blaine is your brother, it should be me comforting you and not the other way around” Sam apologized, embarrassed.

“Come on, Sam, we both know you’re his brother as much as I am. It’s alright, don’t worry. In fact, I should be thanking you, shouldn’t I?” Cooper said, trying to lighten the mood of the room. “It seems like you’ve been taking care of him pretty good while I was not here”

“Well, of course I did, I was not going to leave him alone” Sam answered with a fond smile as he looked at Blaine for a second, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed to the eldest Anderson brother.

“Well, I’m now here, so you should go home for a while and get some sleep” Cooper suggested.

“I slept a little while…”

“In a bed”

“I… don’t want to leave him alone” Sam refused.

“I promise I won’t move from his side until you’re back”

“Not even if anyone else comes along for a visit and insists you to?” Cooper wasn’t sure what Sam meant by that: if he didn’t want to leave Blaine alone with anybody else that wasn’t Cooper or himself or if he didn’t want specifically someone to be left alone with Blaine. What had he missed these last few weeks, Cooper wondered.

“Not even then” Cooper answered, not understanding but feeling like Sam deserved the assurance after all he had gone trough. “From now on Blaine’s is our responsibility, just you and me, ok?”

“I don’t know, Coop, when he wakes up he’s going to ask for me and…”

“And I’ll tell him you’ll be back later. You need to take care of yourself too or you’ll end up sick and Blaine wouldn’t forgive me for allowing it”

“But…” Sam tried to protest, but Cooper was not having it.

“Sam, can’t you understand I want some quality time with my little brother too?”

Sam closed his mouth before any more retorts could come out. Cooper was right: if one of his little siblings were in Blaine’s position, he would want to be there for them too. Even if he suspected it was just an excuse to make him go rest at home, Cooper was still right.

“Alright” Sam finally relented. “But please take care of him. He is always very disoriented for a second when he wakes up because of the concussion and he might try to get up. Try to keep him as still as possible so he doesn’t hurt his ribs even further. I guess he can sit up, but only if you help him and very slowly. If he is in too much pain just call the nurse and she will give him something. And try to encourage him to sleep as much as he can, he needs a lot of rest and it’s the best way to make sure he…”

“Sam, it’s okay” Cooper interrupted with an amused smile. “I’ll take care of him”

“You promise?”

“Are you really asking me that? I’m his brother” Cooper feigned being offended, which elicited a chuckle from Sam.

“I know, but do you promise?” Sam insisted with an embarrassed smile.

“Scout’s honor” Cooper promised, raising his hand to show how serious he was about it.

“I’ll come back as soon as I wake up then. I’ll bring him his own pajamas and any stuff I can think he might need”

“Don’t rush it. I guarantee you he is in good hands”

“I know that. It’s just…”

“That you want to be here with him, I get that” Cooper answered understandingly, but when he saw the blush in Sam’s cheeks he decided to change the subject so as not to embarrass the boy any further. “By the way, Sam. Thanks for calling me”

“Of course I called you. You’re his brother and I know how much you love him. You needed to be here. And he will be so glad to see you too”

“Thanks anyway”

“I… didn’t call your parents, though. I wasn’t sure what to do, so I thought I’d let you decide” Sam tentatively explained, knowing it was a sore issue in the Anderson family.

“I guess it’s better this way, I don’t think Blaine would have appreciated that” Cooper sadly smiled, very aware of how Blaine hadn’t been on speaking terms with them for a couple of years, since they had thrown him out of their house and their lives while he was visiting once because of who he was. Cooper still called his mother every couple of months or so, but it was needless to say he didn’t felt like bonding with them that much either after what they did to his brother.

“Well, I’ll get going then” Sam said as he grabbed his jacket and then moved to say goodbye to his friend, even if he was asleep. “I’ll be back soon” Sam whispered into Blaine’s ear, even though he knew his words would not be heard, and discreetly kissed Blaine’s forehead before giving his hair a last loving ruffle that Cooper pretended not to see.

**********

Blaine knew he was awakening when he started feeling the pain in his head and in his ribs again, though it wasn’t as bad as before. He only took him a minute that time to remember where he was and why, and was glad not to feel so disoriented anymore.

The next thing he was aware of was that someone was lovingly caressing his hair. Like Sam had done to calm him last time he was awake, he seemed to remember.

“Sam?” Blaine asked before he even opened his eyes, still in confusion, his mind feeling residually foggy from the medication.

“Sorry to disappoint you, squirt, just your old brother here” Cooper answered, not stopping his ministrations, and smiled when Blaine opened his eyes and saw the recognition in them.

“Cooper?” Blaine asked, more alert this time, as he tried to sit up without thinking. His broken ribs immediately protested his actions, though, and he hissed loudly in pain so Cooper jumped to help him up, taking the time to embrace his little brother carefully.

“Hey, be careful or Sam will have my hide. Can you believe he made me promise to look after you? Me! I should be the one giving the orders, right? I’m supposed to be your older brother! Who’s going to take care of you better than me?” Cooper protested, but Blaine could see he was only joking.

“Don’t make me answer that” Blaine joked between his teeth, trying to regain control of the pain as Cooper looked at him worriedly and comforted him with a squeeze to the shoulder. “Not that I’m not glad to see you, but what are you doing here?”

“Sam called me to tell me my little brother was in the hospital. You really think I was not going to come?”

“I’m sorry if I made you change your plans. Was it a lot of trouble? Were you in the middle of something?” Blaine asked, obviously worried.

“Don’t think about that, buddy, you’ll always come first” Cooper answered in all honesty. “But no, I finished the shooting a couple of days ago. In fact, I was planning to come for a visit anyway. There was no need for you to make such a mess so I’d come, you know” Cooper dared to joke, and was rewarded with a little smile from his brother.

“Well, in any case I’m happy to see you” Blaine confessed.

“So how are you feeling? Sam told me you’re in a lot of pain”

“Well, I’m not going to lie to you, last night was pretty horrible. But I’m feeling a little better now, must be the painkillers. I also feel more aware, which is good because I felt quite incapable of having a normal conversation and it was kind of frustrating”

“Yes, Sam told me you had a rough night. By the way, Sam called me”

“Yeah, I know, you just told me”

“No, I mean _Sam_ called me. Not Kurt” Cooper clarified.

“Oh” Blaine exclaimed, understanding what Cooper meant. “Well, you know Kurt and I are not together anymore”

“Yeah, I know. But since he was the one here first…”

“Was he? Well, I guess they called him, he’s my emergency contact. I never thought to change it when we broke up”

“And since you and I leave on opposite ends of the country, don’t you think maybe Sam should be your emergency contact now?” Cooper pointed out, and Blaine carefully nodded, trying not to disturb his mild headache.

“Yeah, probably”

“I mean… I know he’d be glad” Cooper added, trying to make a point.

“What do you mean?” Blaine asked, not knowing if he was still a bit slow because of the concussion or Cooper was being more cryptic than usual.

“Well, I don’t know if you’re aware of this _little_ detail, but no one thought to call Sam when you were brought here. He only got informed the morning after, and only because he had the idea of calling Finn to see if he knew something about where Kurt or you might be”

“Really?” Blaine asked in total disbelief. He had hardly been conscious the day before, so he was not aware of the whole situation. “Why?”

“Apparently Kurt _forgot_ to call him, or to pick up his phone when Sam called to see if you were with him. After you didn’t show up at home all night, he was beyond worried. And when he got here he was so angry at Kurt…”

“Did he tell you that?”

“No. I’ve never seeing Sam talking behind someone’s back” Cooper answered, and Blaine felt a warm pride in his chest that his brother would think so highly of Sam. “Finn came by this morning for a moment on his way to work while you were asleep and told me”

“Oh” Blaine exclaimed, not really knowing what to do with all this new information.

“So buddy, can I ask you a question?” Cooper asked, and by the look in his eyes Blaine could see he was not going to take no for an answer, so he went with it.

“Yeah, of course”

“What’s going on with Sam?” trust Cooper to be direct with his questions.

“What do you mean?” Blaine asked back, not really knowing if Cooper was talking about what he thought he was talking or how the hell did he know something was going between he and Sam.

“Well, I’ve never seen him so… upset. When I arrived you were asleep, and Sam was just sitting next to you, holding your hand. I coughed to make my presence known, and he immediately sat up and rubbed his eyes, pretending he had been asleep. But I think he was crying”

“Really?” Blaine asked, immediately worried about his friend’s state. His mind had been in such a blur that he was afraid he had not been able to read Sam’s own pain in his actions.

“Your accident really shook him, Blaine. He had realized he could lose you and he was terrified” Cooper explained, trying to find some information in Blaine’s eyes about what he was thinking.

“Poor Sam” Blaine lamented. “Well, he’s my best friend, I would be devastated too if it was him in my place…”

“I don’t know, Blaine” Cooper immediately denied, shaking his head to reinforce his words. “Of course you get to worry a lot about good friends, but his face when he looked at you…”

Blaine sighed, knowing there was no point in denying it any longer. If there was someone who knew him almost as good as Sam, that was his big brother.

“Something… is changing between us” Blaine confessed.

“As in…”

“As in I don’t know where this is leading us” Blaine immediately added. “But since Kurt and I broke up, I’ve been getting all this confused and mixed signals from Sam, like he wants something from me but at the same time he doesn’t really dare to act on it”

“And how do you feel about it?”

“I don’t know… The same as him, I guess” Blaine answered, finally admitting it to himself as much as to his brother. “I can’t say I’ve not thought about him a lot lately. You can’t imagine how wonderful he has been to me with this whole Kurt thing. He’s the best person I’ve ever known, and he makes me feel so at ease and…”

“Happy?” Cooper added, and Blaine felt almost annoyed at how accurate Cooper could be.

“Yeah”

“More than Kurt did?” Cooper incisively asked, and Blaine nodded.

“Sam knows me inside out and he accepts me for who I am” Blaine explained with a small smile.

“I can see that” Cooper added, also smiling.

“The night before the accident we…” Blaine started, but then he stopped himself afraid of giving too much information.

“Blaine, you little whore!” Cooper exclaimed with an amused chuckle.

“No! I didn’t mean that!” Blaine protested, massively blushing. “We just kissed”

“Well, not as exciting… But it’s still pretty big” Cooper answered, only half joking.

“We haven’t talked about it yet, though, with everything that happened later”

“But it meant something” Cooper insisted, not really asking as much as affirming.

“Of course it meant something” Blaine admitted. “It meant a lot”

“Well, you know what, little brother?” Cooper said, giving him a friendly pat on his arm before he sat down on the chair. “I have to say I wouldn’t mind having him as a brother-in-law…”

“You never said that about Kurt”

“I never liked Kurt as I like Sam” Cooper answered with raw honesty. “I can also see how he gets the best of you. And anybody who cares about my kid brother like he does has my whole approbation. And now enough talking, I can see in your face you’re getting a headache”

“Could you please close the curtains a bit? This light is killing my eyes” Blaine asked, feeling the dreaded headache coming back.

“Of course” Cooper answered, immediately getting up to obey. “That way you will sleep better”

“Sleep? I just woke up” Blaine protested, but the tiredness in his eyes belied his words.

“Sam made me promise you’d get as much sleep as possible. Do you want me to disappoint him and explain to him what a difficult patient you’re being?”

“No” Blaine pouted as if he was a little kid.

“I mean, we could be in-laws soon, let’s get a good start” Cooper joked, and was not fast enough to avoid Blaine’s playful punch before he sat again.

“You idiot” Blaine said with a wide grin.

“Get some sleep now, you can insult me later” Cooper said, and he grabbed a magazine from his bag and started skimming through it as his little brother fell asleep at his side.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I have to ask: is this still interesting? Or are you getting bored because the real relationship is taking so long to happen? I'm afraid it might be getting a bit heavy to read, but I'd like to know your opinion...


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, first of all I want to thank you all for your advices, encouraging and general support!! I was so worried you were going to get tired of the story and I got such a marvelous reception! You really made my day! Thank you so much!

Blaine slept for a couple more hours while his brother read next to his bed, and he woke up feeling refreshed and with the least pain since the accident happened. When he woke up, he asked Cooper to lift the upper part of the bed and help him sit up, and his brother gladly complied. They were glad for the time together –which usually was not as common as they would like due to how far away they lived from each other– and they chattered amicably for a good while, even while Blaine was given his first solid food and he ate about half of it. And it was like that that Sam found them when he returned.

“Hi” Sam greeted softly when he opened the door to the room, in case Blaine was asleep, but his smile turned into a wide grin as he noticed Blaine awake and sitting up, obviously in less pain than he had been the night before.

“Hey, Sammy” Blaine answered happily, clearly glad to see his friend now that he was more lucid than the night before and actually able to have a coherent conversation.

“You look so much better than you did in the morning” Sam commented joyfully and he took advantage of the fact that he was nearing the bed to leave a bag full of Blaine’s things next to the wall to give Blaine’s cheek a kiss as if it was the most normal thing in world –his brother had kissed him in the morning, so he was allowed to do that too, right?

Blaine was slightly surprised –though not bothered at all– at the action, but he didn’t say anything; what annoyed him was the knowing smirk he caught in Cooper’s face. God, he shouldn’t have said anything to him!

“Yeah, I feel great” Blaine answered when he found his voice, but Sam could see he was being a bit too positive about his health.

“Great?” he asked, his face showing his disbelief.

“Ok, maybe not great, but good enough. They even gave me lunch!”

“You already ate?” Sam asked in surprise, looking at his watch. “How long was I gone?”

“Oh for God’s sake, Sam, you were gone for like four hours!” Cooper interrupted, mockingly frustrated at Sam’s obvious need to be a part of everything that happened to Blaine in his recovery. “And hey, I managed to keep him alive, didn’t I? You should congratulate me” he added in full irony.

“Ha ha, very funny” Sam answered, equally sarcastic, as he sat on the vacant chair, furtively moving it closer to Blaine’s bed. “I never said you couldn’t, I just made you promise it”

“Did you get some sleep?” Blaine asked his best friend, all jokes aside, looking at him intently while he tried to asses both his physical and emotional state. After what Cooper had told him about Sam being so affected by his accident, Blaine had made a point to keep an eye on him.

“Yeah, I did” Sam affirmed. “I guess I was more tired than I thought. I feel completely renewed. But hey, it’s not me we should worry about”

“Of course I’m going to worry about you, Sam, if you don’t take care of yourself” Blaine answered, and Sam could immediately see that, in spite of his light tone, he was not joking. “In fact, Coop, I’m counting on you to help me keep him in check” Blaine announced, turning to his brother.

“Wait a minute” Cooper responded, feigning resignation. “So Sam makes me promise to take care of you, and now you want me to take care of him? You two are exhausting, you know. I think I’m going to take a long walk and then I’ll have lunch, and then maybe, only maybe, I’ll be back and with a little bit of luck you’ll both be asleep so I don’t have to hear all this nonsense”

The three of them laughed –though Blaine winced and had to put his arm around his middle to stop the twinge his broken ribs provoked– and Cooper left, leaving the other boys alone. Blaine immediately turned to his friend and looked at him so intently that Sam felt mildly uncomfortable.

“What?” he asked.

“You alright?” Blaine asked with a tenderness in his voice that confused Sam. Why was Blaine worrying about him?

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking you that?” Sam asked.

“You already did, so now I’m asking you”

“Yeah, I’m great” Sam asked with a puzzled smile. “Why do you ask?”

“Because Cooper told me… you were a bit shaken when he arrived” Blaine tentatively said, avoiding to talk about him crying so as not to embarrass him or make him go in the defensive.

“Well, in case you didn’t notice, my best friend had just had an accident” Sam chuckled, though Blaine could see that Sam was actually feeling judged.

“I know that. I’m not questioning it, I’m just asking if you’re okay” Blaine calmly reassured him, and Sam was moved by the honest worry he could see in Blaine’s eyes.

“I am now” Sam answered, honestly this time.

“Good. ‘Cause… I worry about you too, you know” Blaine added, never the one to be embarrassed about expressing his feelings.

“Yeah, of course I know” Sam answered, and for a second he was tempted to initiate that conversation they still had pending about their feelings. But he knew it wasn’t the right moment: Blaine was still weak, and feeling very vulnerable and frustrated, it wasn’t fair for Sam to give him something else to worry about. Because Sam wasn’t even sure about Blaine’s feelings: what if he didn’t really want to start something, or he needed some time after the whole Kurt thing or something like that? He didn’t need to feel guilty about not returning Sam’s feelings on top of all of his injuries and pains. And what if he said yes but only because he felt grateful that Sam was taking care of him? No, Blaine needed to recover and be more like his own self before Sam would dare to tell him about his feelings. They had their whole lives ahead of them, there was no reason for him to rush it –apart from the fact he was anxious to tell him, of course.

“Shouldn’t you be at work, by the way?” Blaine asked, taking Sam out of his reverie, though the blond could see that his friend was quite happy to have him there.

“No, I called my boss yesterday and told him I was taking some days off” Sam explained, knowing his words were about to initiate a debate.

“What? But Sam, those days are supposed to be your holidays, you shouldn’t…” Blaine predictably started, though Sam didn’t even let him finish.

“Can you see I’m not even listening? That’s how little I care about your opinion on this” Sam explained, and he was glad when Blaine only chuckled instead of insisting. He guessed Blaine was too glad to have him there and still needed him too much to insist too much for him to go back to work.

“Thank you” he said with a tender smile.

“Don’t mention it” Sam immediately refused the praise, knowing he was as glad to keep Blaine company as the other boy was. “I also made a phone call to NYADA this morning to warn them about how their most brilliant student will miss a few days of class because he is not so brilliant at walking down the street without been ran over by a cab… But don’t worry, Kurt took your composition project to them so you don’t have to worry about that”

“How do you always think about everything?” Blaine asked in admiration. “Even I had completely forgotten about it”

“Well, considering you are sporting a nice concussion, I think you can be forgiven about it” Sam answered, only half joking.

“Well, thank you again”

“You’re repeating yourself, man. So… has anyone been here to visit while I was gone?” Sam asked, tried to sound as nonchalant as possible.

“Cooper said Finn was here this morning, but I was asleep so I missed him”

“No one else?”

“No, Sam, Kurt wasn’t here” Blaine answered, having guessed Sam’s intentions.

“Was I being too obvious?” he asked with an embarrassed smile.

“Cooper told me what happened and I understand you don’t wanting to see him” Blaine explained, completely understanding. “I can’t believe Kurt didn’t call you immediately. I’m so sorry”

“Hey, it’s not your fault” Sam immediately reassured him, resting his hand on Blaine’s for good measure.

“Well, it partly is because I never changed him as my emergency contact. So I was wondering if… if maybe you wouldn’t mind being my emergency contact from now on?” Wasn’t Blaine adorable when he got a little nervous?

“Not only I don’t mind but it will make me so relieved, to be honest” Sam confessed, giving Blaine’s hand a last squeeze before letting go of it.

“Thanks, Sam. I wouldn’t want anyone else to be with me if anything else happened”

“Which won’t” Sam immediately replied, not willing to even think about having another firght like that.

“No, of course not, but just in case. I’ll change it as soon as I’m out of the hospital”

“Ok, so I brought you some things from home” Sam explained, changing the subject and retrieving the bag he had brought to show it to Blaine. “Some pajamas and underwear” Sam tried not to blush at that, “your favorite shampoo, your toothbrush, your ebook, though I don’t think you will be reading much until your head gets better… And I brought my laptop, so we can watch a movie some time if you feel like it”

“Oh yes, please! Can we watch it now?” the excitement in Blaine’s face was so cute that Sam had a hard time trying not to go laugh.

“Are you sure? You’re not going to get a headache?”

“I don’t think so, they just gave me my painkillers” Blaine shrugged his shoulders. “I should be fine”

“Alright, so what do you want to watch?” Sam asked, just before he remembered something. “Oh shit!”

“What’s wrong?”

“I forgot _The Sound of music_ at home! It’s on the DVD player!” Sam answered, softly hitting his own head as a penance for his bad memory.

“Sam, it’s okay, we can watch another one” Blaine said with a chuckle.

“But that is your comfort movie”

“Do you have… any Disney movies?” Blaine asked, smiling mischievously at his friend.

“Oh, God, really?” Sam exclaimed, already knowing they were going to watch it because he was not going to deny Blaine anything, especially when he was hurt, right? “You’re going to be the death of me, you know that? I spoil you so much!”

“If you hate them so much, why do you have them in your computer?” Blaine pointed out, smiling at his friend’s antics.

“So I can spoil you. Are you even following this conversation?”

“You’re such an idiot, you know?” Blaine said, making both of them chuckle.

“Let’s see, I only have _The Little Mermaid_ and _The lion king”_ Sam explained as he searched through the folders on his laptop.

“Totally _The Little Mermaid_ , right now we don’t need something that gets us crying like babies, right?”

“I don’t cry!” Sam replied, mockingly infuriated.

“Oh, then it must have been another person crying his eyes out when we watched _My Girl_ ” Blaine replied in sarcasm.

“That’s different! He couldn’t see without his glasses!”

“Yeah, right”

Sam pressed play and while the credits started he tried to find the best place to leave the laptop so they could both watch it comfortably, but with Blaine being on the tall bed and him in a simple chair, it didn’t seem like an easy task.

“Why don’t you sit here with me and we can leave the laptop on the bed?” Blaine suggested, apparently reading his mind.

“I don’t know, Blaine, you need your space, we have to be careful with those ribs” Sam answered, wanting to be sensible but hoping against hope that Blaine would refuse his precautions.

“Don’t be ridiculous, this bed is wide enough for the both of us” Blaine answered, already pushing the covers aside for Sam to sit by his side, so Sam finally relented.

He very carefully sat on the bed, trying not to jostle his friend too much, and put the laptop on the bed in front of them. Now they both could watch it perfectly, but Sam could see Blaine was not entirely comfortable just perching on the bed. He thought a cushion would do great, but they only had the bed’s pillow and it was too big, so he finally put his arm around Blaine’s waist and let him rest his back partially on his own chest. That way he had a better support to take some pressure out of his battered ribs –plus the contact was nice.

“Better?” Sam asked, gently pushing Blaine’s head to his own shoulder so he would get entirely supported and comfortable.

“Yes” Blaine smiled at how well Sam could read him –and at how good it felt to be resting against Sam’s warm and firm chest while his strong arm held him around the waist. It was good that, even with everything going on around them –and between them– they could still cuddle like that and not feel uncomfortable.

As they both had seen the film a million times before, they didn’t need to be that attentive to follow it, so they kept talking and commenting and joking all through it, for a moment both forgetting where they were and why to just be themselves, as every Sunday afternoon they would spend hanging around in their sofa watching TV together.

Sam pretended it was torture to watch _The little mermaid_ again, and mockingly whined all through it, but when the time for Sebastian the crab to sing _Under the sea_ came he unconsciously started singing under his breath.

“Sam?” Blaine asked, lifting his head from Sam’s shoulder to look at his friend.

“Hhmm?”

“Are you singing along?”

“Of course not” Sam answered too quickly.

“Sam, my ear is very near your mouth, you were totally singing”

“Okay, I think your head is still broken from that blow you took because you are imagining things”

“You so love this movie!” Blaine exclaimed with a wide grin, pointing his finger to Sam’s face to reinforce his words.

“I don’t!” Sam denied, trying to look offended.

“Oh, you so do!” Blaine insisted, again resting his head on Sam’s shoulder, and the latter finally had to chuckle.

“I don’t” Sam tried, and failed, to convince him.

Blaine didn’t answer, but with a big grin he started singing too –softly, he didn’t want to awake any possible pains–, nudging Sam every now and then to provoke him until Sam couldn’t help it anymore and joined him in a much louder voice, doing his best Sebastian impression until Blaine roared with laughter and they had to stop because of a sharp pain in Blaine’s ribs and a very guilty expression on Sam’s face.

Even then, after Blaine had managed to control the pain again, Sam could feel Blaine smiling against his neck, as he also felt his long eyelashes fluttering after a while and the boy’s breathing told Sam he had fallen asleep again.

Sam debated with himself if he should extricate from Blaine’s half embrace and let him lie on the bed, but by then Blaine was nuzzling his neck in his sleep, his breathing sending shivers and causing for goose bumps to appear in Sam’s skin, and it felt too intimate and wonderful to move just yet.

**********

The movie was close to the end when Cooper made an apparition that made Sam instantly blush at the compromising position he was in –at least to anyone outside them both–, with Blaine in his arms.

“Am I interrupting something?” Cooper asked in a whisper with an amused smirk.

“We… I…” Sam stuttered, trying to find an acceptable answer. “He was more comfortable like this”

“Of course he was” Cooper answered with a knowing nod of his head.

“He chose the movie, I don’t even like it” Sam tried to justify himself when he noticed Cooper was peering at the laptop’s screen.

“Am I making any questions?”

“No” Sam denied.

“Then stop giving me answers” Cooper said, more amused by the minute, and Sam felt his cheeks blushing even further at how obvious it was he was trying to make excuses.

“Ok, help me get him more comfortable” Sam told him, silently imploring for Cooper to let go.

“I thought you said it was like that when he felt more comfortable” he was not going to make it easy, was he?

“To watch a movie, not to sleep” Sam explained with an implicit “duuh”, because it was obvious, wasn’t it?”

“Ok” Cooper finally relented, taking pity of his brother’s best friend –for now, of course, because Cooper was sure they wouldn’t remain just friends for long.

Sam carefully slipped from under Blaine’s upper body while still holding him upright, and then he carefully maneuvered him into a lying position while Cooper took the remote and put the bed into almost a full horizontal position again.

“He keeps sleeping so much” Sam commented, slightly worried, as he carefully rearranged the pillow under Blaine’s head and the covers around his shoulders.

“Yeah, but the doctor said it’s because of the painkillers, which make him drowsy, and because he is tired from his body working so much to heal. Nothing to worry about” Cooper answered, more kindly this time.

“It just feels strange to see him so weak, doesn’t it? With him normally being so active…” It felt good for Sam to have someone to share his worries with, someone who cared about Blaine as much –or almost as much– as he did.

“You mean hyperactive” Cooper added with a fond chuckle.

“Well, yeah” Sam admitting with a smile of his own.

“You don’t have to worry, really, he’ll be alright in no time. After all, look how much better he is than he was yesterday!”

“You’re right” Sam admitted, relaxing at Cooper’s words.

“By the way… Not that I don’t already know the answer, but… are you staying here for the night?” Cooper asked out of the blue.

“Well…” Sam asked with a shy smile.

“I’m guessing that’s a yes”

“You’re guessing right”

“That’s what I thought. Then I’ll be back first thing in the morning again so you can go home and get some sleep, deal?”

“Deal” Sam agreed, knowing it was useless to try and argue with the oldest Anderson brother –or the youngest, because Blaine wouldn’t let him neglect himself either when he awoke. “Oh, I hadn’t remembered, I brought a spare set of keys of our apartment. You’ll be staying there, right?”

“Yeah, if it isn’t too much trouble”

“Don’t be stupid, just make yourself at home” Sam offered, putting the keys on Cooper’s hand. “There’s some food in the fridge, take whatever you want”

“Thanks, Sam. So I’ll see you tomorrow, ok?” Cooper said as he put on his jacket, but just when he was already at the door he turned around to look at Sam, that damned smirk from before back on his face. “Give him a kiss for me if he wakes up, I’m sure it’s not too much to ask, is it?”

Sam blushed for what seemed the hundredth time long after he couldn’t hear Cooper’s laughter anymore. He liked Cooper, a lot, but man, sometimes he could get really annoying. Sam guessed Cooper had somehow grasped on his more than friendly feelings for Blaine –he had to admit he had been pretty obvious about it with all his worrying and pampering over the other boy– but he wished he wasn’t that incisive about it. He hoped that at least he would refrain around Blaine, because that was not the way Sam wanted to deal with such an important matter. And he obviously wanted to pick the right moment himself, thank you very much.

Not seeing the sense of finishing the movie on his own, considering he already knew how it ended, he grabbed the bag he had brought again and took out the sketch book and some of the tools Blaine had gotten for him on his birthday. He had decided that, given he would have so much time to kill in the hospital until Blaine was discharged, it was a good time to start thinking about that comic he had always wanted to draw. He could start thinking about the characters and the plot, doing some sketches… anything that brought him closer to his dream. Because Blaine had been the one to encourage him and he owed him to at least try. So with one last glance at his beloved friend, Sam just smiled tenderly and started drawing.  

**********

The next couple of days went pretty much in the same routine: Sam and Cooper would take turns to stay with the injured young man –though Sam took more than his share, obviously, and still stayed for the nights–. Blaine was still quite in a lot of pain, though not so much as before, and he still slept more than usual. His color had improved, though, and his usual smile replaced the almost present wince from the first couple of days most of the time.

Sam had offered to call Tina and the rest of their friends to tell them about his accident now that Blaine was feeling better, since Blaine’s phone had been destroyed, and Blaine had reluctantly agreed –not because he didn’t want to see her, obviously, but because he didn’t want to scare her. He was sure she would appear in tears any minute.

Finn had come by again on his way to work, and this time he was glad to see Blaine awake and alert. They talked for a few minutes until he had to go, and neither one of them mentioned Kurt’s absence.

Although they didn’t talk about it, both Blaine and Sam were surprised when day after day went by and Kurt still had to appear –or even call to ask how Blaine was doing, though Sam guessed he probably was being keeping updated by Finn. Sam, who knew exactly what had happened while Blaine was out, was pretty sure Kurt had started accepting Blaine was not in love with him anymore and was trying to come to terms with it before facing him again.

What they didn’t know, though, is that Kurt had indeed been there a couple of times and poked his head round the door. On both occasions, Sam had been there, apparently taking over the room and the whole situation, and he had been so infuriated and sad at the same time that he hadn’t dared to go in. It was supposed to be him, and not Sam, the one to take care of Blaine. And right then he felt so out of place that he wasn’t able to gather the courage to enter.

**********

On the fourth day after the accident, Cooper had already gone home for the day and Sam was working on his sketches while Blaine slept on the afternoon when there was a soft knock at the door. Sam raised his eyes from his work to discover Mike and Tina making their way into their room.

“Hi” Sam, rising from his chair next to the bed to walk to them, greeted almost in a whisper, not wanting to disturb Blaine’s sleep.

“Blaine!” Tina almost yelled at the sight of his friend in a hospital room, and she pushed both Sam and Mike out of the way to run to him.

“Tina, no, he just fell asleep!” Sam tried to warn her, but she had already practically jumped on the boy and Blaine opened his eyes, confusedly. “Ok, too late”

“I’m sorry” Mike apologized for her, as he and Sam approached the bed too. “She was really affected when he heard about what happened!

“Tina?” Blaine asked at the strange presence of a head on his chest, loudly sobbing as she squeezed his middle a little too strongly for the sake of his ribs. “Tina, my ribs”

“I’m so sorry!” she immediately jumped from him, but the pain was so obvious in her eyes that Blaine managed to sit up –with Sam’s help, who jumped to help him the moment he saw him struggling– and he threw his arms around her to embrace her properly.

“Hey, Tina, it’s okay” he tried to comfort her when Tina’s sobs returned. “I’m okay”

“Well, I wouldn’t say _okay_ …” Sam intervened, having been a direct witness of all the aches Blaine was still suffering.

“You’re not helping, Sam” Blaine gently admonished him as he patted Tina’s back, hoping to calm her. “I’m mostly okay now, Tina. I’m definitely getting out of this one”

“I know, Blaine” she finally managed to answer. “But it was so close… You could have died!”

“But I didn’t, did I?” Blaine spoke with a reassuring calmness, but it didn’t escape his eyes the wince that crossed Sam’s face at Tina’s words, which told him that not only Tina had been having these thoughts in their head, like Cooper had told him.

“You’re right” Tina answered, finally breaking the embrace. “Let’s focus on what happened, and not what could have happened”

“That’s my girl” Blaine smiled at her, and she kissed his cheek before moving out of the way so Mike could greet him too.

“Hey, man” Mike stretched his hand for Blaine to take it in a friendly gesture. “How are you feeling?”

“Not on my finest, but good enough” Blaine answered, trying to play down the importance of it, but he was grateful when Sam lifted the upper part of the bed with the remote and helped him again to rest against it, so he smiled at his friend as a thank you. No matter what Blaine needed, Sam was already doing it for him before he had time to ask.

“Good enough if we ignore the awful pain in your middle, the terrible headaches you get from your concussion or the inconvenience of a broken arm, of course” Sam explained, unconsciously rubbing Blaine’s shoulder for comfort.

“Don’t listen to him” Blaine warned their friends with a smile. “He’s just a mother hen”

“Oh, am I?” Sam answered in mock offense.

“Well, you have to admit that you’ve been worrying quite a bit” he answered, and then he turned to their friends. “I mean, last night was the first night he went home to sleep at night! And he was here again before I was even awake”

“I don’t like the thought of you being alone here all day, especially when you’re not feeling well” Sam confessed, embarrassedly looking at the floor.

“Not that I’m not grateful, of course” Blaine was quick to add, which elicited a shy smile from his friend immediately.

“Maybe we can take turns staying with him, Sam” Tina offered.

“Oh, you can come anytime you want, of course, but…”

“But you’re going to stay anyway” Tina finished for him, and for a second Sam had a feeling that she knew more about his feelings that she let on. “By the way, who do I have to get angry at for not calling us sooner?”

“That would be me, I guess” Blaine confessed, bracing himself from the bollocking he was sure he was going to receive. “I knew how this would affect you and I told Sam maybe we should wait until I was home to tell you. You know, so you wouldn’t see me in the hospital”

“But I told him that you would probably send him back to the hospital from a beating when you found out, so at the end we both decided it was the lesser of two evils” Sam joked, although everyone in the room knew there was a lot of truth behind his words.

“I’m not going to yell at you because you’re convalescing, but wait ‘till you get better…” Tina warned him.

“To be fair, he hasn’t been really up to visiting until now” Sam defended him, all jokes aside. “We’ve had a rough couple of days” Sam tried not to wince as he remembered those days, the pain reflected in Blaine’s eyes every time painkillers wore off from the awful headaches which, fortunately, were starting to slacken now.

“Alright” Tina relented. “And considering I woke you up and hurt your ribs just the moment I came in, I can understand you not wanting me here sooner” she joked, and Blaine smiled at her. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her, and it was nice having his _sister_ there. With her, Sam and Cooper around, there was little else he could ask for.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little light and fluffy interlude before we take care of some unfinished business ;)


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops, sorry it took me so long to update, I kind of had a difficult week :( But please, enjoy anyway!

Five days after the accident, Kurt decided again to try and get Blaine alone so they could have a talk. Finn had told him Blaine was doing much better, so he guessed it wouldn’t be long until they discharged him, and having to visit him at his own place –and Sam’s, of course– would make it all the more difficult. He thought maybe around midday would be a good idea to try: with a bit of luck Sam would be grabbing a bite or something –he doubted he was already back to work, or that he would be as long as Blaine was at the hospital.

Kurt poked his head around the door as silently as possible, and he felt a rush of hope at seeing the young boy on his bed, reading a book and looking much stronger than the last time he had seen him. And there was no trace of Sam, or anybody else for that matter, around so he decidedly knocked on the door and made his way in.

“Hi” he said with a shy smile as long as Blaine raised his eyes from his book.

“Hey, Kurt” he answered, but apart from surprise Kurt couldn’t decipher any other feeling in the tone of his voice.

Kurt’s smile froze in an instant when he saw Cooper coming out of the bathroom. How had he not thought that Blaine’s brother would have come to be with him? After all, he knew how much Cooper cared about his little brother, and the fact that he hadn’t called him didn’t mean that he hadn’t found out some other way –Sam, obviously. It was always Sam. And how the hell had Finn forgotten to warn him?

“Hey, Cooper” Kurt mumbled, more than slightly nervous at seeing Blaine’s older brother. He was bound to be worse than Sam, he was sure of that. After all, they had never had the closest of relationships, and after everything that had transpired lately…

“Kurt. Long no time no see” Cooper answered, giving him a cold stare. “Since before you dumped my brother, right?”

“Well…” Kurt wanted to reply, but Cooper was one of the few people in the world who were able to intimidate him. He was very protective of his little brother and, after what Kurt had done, he was sure he was not going to get out of it that easy.

“By the way, thank you for calling me immediately when Blaine was hurt, that was so thoughtful of you… Oh wait, that didn’t happen” Cooper continued, his voice full of sarcasm.

“I now I have no excuse…” Kurt tried to defend himself, but Cooper was having none of it.

“No, you surely don’t. You have some nerve coming back here and expecting to be welcomed”

“Cooper, please” Blaine interrupted, his big heart causing him to feel pity for Kurt, even if he knew that Cooper had reason to be angry.

“What, Blaine? Am I supposed to be nice to someone who hurt you so much and who very conveniently forgot to get anyone here when you were seriously hurt, hoping to get you back all for himself?” Cooper asked angrily and, though Blaine knew it wasn’t directed at him, he still felt obliged to intervene.

“No, Coop, but I’d appreciate it if you’d let me speak with him for a minute” Blaine answered in a calm voice, giving his brother his best version of a puppy look that he knew Cooper wouldn’t be able to resist.

“Alright” Cooper relented with a sigh, but his voice hardened again as he turned to Kurt. “But I’m only doing this for him, alright? You better not upset him any further”

“Thank you, Cooper” Blaine added, sparing Kurt from having to answer to Cooper’s threat.

“I’ll go and stretch my legs for a while, then” Cooper announced. “I’ll leave you two alone so you can tell him more privately to go fuck himself”

“Cooper!” Blaine firmly admonished him, but he had to fight a strong urge to smile at his brother’s impertinence and fierce protection of him.

“I’m sorry, squirt. Nice to see you, Kurt” he added with a voice filled with sarcasm again as he left the room.

“I guess I should apologize for my brother, but… I can understand why he’s so angry at you, after all” Blaine confessed, and Kurt blushed a little. He had expected everyone to be annoyed at him –that’s why he had been avoiding them–, but he was counting on Blaine’s sympathy and understanding, at least.

“Are you angry at me too?” he finally asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“Well, I’m not happy, but I guess both Sam and Cooper already scolded you enough” Blaine answered with a little smile that Kurt immediately reciprocated, slightly relieved.

“Finn did, too” he confessed.

“Well, you kind of brought it on yourself” Blaine reprimanded him, but Kurt could see he was not trying to sound harsh.

“I know”

“Oh, Sam told me you took my composition project to NYADA, though. Thank you, really, it was very important”

“Well, it was the least I could do after… well, after everything. And where is Sam, by the way?” Kurt asked nonchalantly, surprised that the omnipresent blond was nowhere to be found for once.

“Oh, he just went to the cafeteria to grab a bite, but I’m sure he’ll be back soon” Blaine answered with a fond smile, oblivious to the pain and jealousy his words elicited on the other man. “There’s no way to send him home, even though I’m mostly okay by now”

“Darling, you’re far from okay yet” Kurt answered with an adoring smile, not realizing about the pet name until it was already said. “But if you’re feeling good enough, I was wondering if maybe we could… have a word”

“Yeah, I know we have to talk” Blaine nodded in agreement. “In fact, when… this happened… I was going to your place to talk to you”

“Yeah, I figured that much” Kurt answered, absentmindedly. “Should I hold any hope in the fact you were coming to see me?”

“Kurt, I…” Blaine started, his heart breaking at the thought of hurting his former boyfriend.

“So what Sam said was right, wasn’t it?” Kurt interrupted, the tone of his voice completely defeated. “You were coming to put an end to us once and for all”

“Sam told you that?” Blaine asked, surprised that Sam would be so vengeful. “I’m so sorry, Kurt. He had no right”

“It’s alright. To be fair, I actually pushed him a little too much” Kurt explained honestly, and Blaine felt relieved that at least Sam hadn’t been looking to hurt him.

“I’m sorry anyway. You shouldn’t have heard that from him”

“So that’s it? There is absolutely no hope for us” Kurt sounded so resigned that it was even harder for Blaine. It would have been easier if Kurt was angry; he knew how to deal with an angry Kurt, but that brokenhearted version of his was completely new, and Blaine was hurting inside to know he was the cause of it.

“No, Kurt. I’m sorry, but… not anymore”

“Does this have anything to do with Sam?” Kurt asked, and Blaine could hear no trace of reproach on his voice. He only wanted to know.

“No… or maybe in a way, I still don’t know” Blaine answered as honestly as possible. He didn’t want to hurt Kurt, but he didn’t want to lie either. “But the main thing, Kurt, is that you broke up with me because you felt I wasn’t good enough for you anymore”

“That’s not what I said”

“No, but it’s exactly what you meant. You broke my heart, you practically destroyed me and you never looked back to see how I was fairing. That hurt. A lot” Blaine explained and he was surprised that suddenly it didn’t hurt as much to talk about it as it did before.

“I know I wasn’t the best boyfriend, or even friend for that matter, I’ll admit that, but it was a mistake” Kurt answered, almost begging to be forgiven.

“No, it wasn’t” Blaine denied. “Because you were right in a way, you know? I’m not good enough for you”

“Don’t say that”

“But it’s the truth. Just as you are not good enough for me anymore either”

“What?” Kurt asked in surprise. He was not used to Blaine being that brutally honest.

 “We are not meant to be together, not like when we met, because we’ve grown into two very different people that practically have nothing in common. It was okay for us when we were younger, but not anymore” Blaine explained, everything making full sense even to himself for the first time since their break up.

“But I love you” Kurt insisted in a broken whisper that immediately brought tears to Blaine’s eyes.

“And I love you. I guess I’ll always will. But I’m not in love with you anymore”

Sam chose that moment to return to the room, completely oblivious to what was happening inside. As soon as he opened the door, he heard Blaine’s voice and he assumed that he would be talking to his brother. But the solemn and sad tone of his voice immediately alerted Sam that something was different, and it wasn’t until he heard Kurt’s voice too that he understood what was happening.

He contemplated leaving again so they could have some space to finish talking, as they hadn’t noticed he was there yet –the bathroom door hid him from view from Blaine’s bed–, but then Kurt asked about him and he couldn’t bring himself to just not listen to it.

“And… Sam is good enough for you?” he heard Kurt asking, and he held his breath, waiting for Blaine’s answer, feeling like his heart was about to burst it was beating so much.

“I don’t want to lie to you… Yes, something’s changed with Sam in the last few weeks. I want you to know I’d never seen him that way while you and I were together, but lately…” Blaine answered, still oblivious to the presence of the blond boy, and Sam was surprised they weren’t hearing the beating of his heart.

“You love him?” Kurt asked, and Sam held his breath.

“We don’t need to talk about this, I don’t want to hurt you” Blaine refused, wanting to spare Kurt the pain.

“No, if… if we can’t happen at least I’d like to know you’re going to be in good hands” Kurt answered, and Blaine could feel he was being honest.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen, but…” Blaine stopped himself, but Kurt urged him.

“You love him”

“I think so” Blaine finally answered, and Sam brought his hand to his mouth to muffle any possible sound of joy coming out of it at Blaine’s confession. He felt guilty for a second about invading Blaine’s privacy like that, but the happiness he was felling kind of eclipsed any other feeling.

“Well, I… I really think that if someone can make it… that’s the two of you” Kurt said, absentmindedly, before turning again to Blaine. “For all that’s worth, I’m very sorry I hurt you so much”

“I know. But thank you” Blaine answered with a grateful smile. “I really needed to hear that”

“And I’ve always loved you, don’t ever doubt that. Just… maybe not in the way you needed”

A sad and nostalgic silence fell between them, feeling so intimate that Sam again felt bad at intruding and finally exited the room to wait by the door.

“I can’t promise for us to stay friends for a while, but… I’m really going to try. I meant what I said to you once: I’m never saying goodbye” Kurt promised with a tiny smile. “Maybe someday in the future I can call you and we can grab a coffee or something”

“I’d love that” Blaine answered, feeling a tear fell down his cheek that he immediately captured with his finger.                                                                                     

“Meanwhile I’ll ask Finn to keep me updated on your recovery” Kurt said as he started walking towards the door.

“Thanks”

“I love you” he called from the door.

“I love you too” Blaine answered.

“I really hope you find what you’re looking for” were the last words Kurt would tell him in a long time –and Blaine almost started sobbing at the thought, after everything they had shared for so long.

When Kurt was out the door, he was momentarily surprised to see Sam waiting there, with an unreadable expression in his face. If he was waiting outside, it had to be because he knew Kurt was inside. And Kurt had the feeling that he knew a lot of what had transpired at the other side of the door.

“Take care of him for me, please” Kurt pleaded, and Sam knew it had to be very difficult for him to ask him something like that, so he nodded effusively as a promise. “And make him happy. He really deserves that”

“I’ll try” Sam finally found his voice, but by then Kurt was already walking away down the corridor, shoulders slumped and dragging his feet. It was the perfect picture of misery, and for a second Sam felt really sorry for him. But he couldn’t forget how it had been him making Blaine even more miserable only a few months ago, so he had to admit that he was glad things had ended up like that. And he was still feeling butterflies in his stomach at Blaine’s admission that he might be in love with him. So Sam decided to forget about Kurt and focus his attention on the one person he really cared about, and who was probably feeling guilty and sad right now.

“Hey” Sam softly said once inside the room.

“Hey” Blaine answered with a sad smile, erasing any trace of tears of his face with his good hand, lowering his gaze.

“Are you alright?” Sam asked, gently grabbing Blaine’s chin to lift his face.

“Yeah” Blaine answered, nodding. “It’s just… You met Kurt at the door, right?”

“Yeah, I saw him” Sam answered, carefully omitting the part about him listening.

“Well, it was… hard, I guess, telling him I can’t go back with him. It had to be done, but it broke my heart to hurt him”

Sam sighed, wishing not for the first time that Blaine didn’t have such a big heart. He silently sat on the edge of Blaine’s bed, facing him, and grabbed Blaine’s good hand in between both of his.

“I know it hurts now, but… at least it’s over and done with, right?” Sam said with an understanding smile, wanting to comfort him.

“I guess”

“And he took it better than we could have expected” Sam commented, but he immediately understood he had made a mistake.

“How do you know how he took it?” Blaine asked in confusion.

“I’m sorry” Sam apologized, about to confess.

“For what?”

“For… eavesdropping while you were talking to Kurt”

“You were listening?” Blaine asked, more surprised than disappointed or angry, so Sam took it as a sign to explain everything to him.

“I didn’t mean to, I got in before I realized you weren’t alone, and I didn’t want to interrupt you”

“Is that all? You just didn’t want to interrupt?” Blaine asked doubtfully.

“Well, I… I wanted to hear what you had to say” Sam confessed, not taking his eyes out of Blaine’s face to see his reaction.

“But Sam, you could have asked me later” Blaine reasoned with him. “You know I’ll always be honest with you”

“It’s not that”

“Then what is it?” Blaine asked, feeling there was something odd about Sam’s behavior.

“I… I needed to know if it was safe for me to tell you…” Sam hesitated before continuing. He really hadn’t wanted to talk about his feelings until they were home and Blaine was safe and sound, but the chance was opening so directly in front of him that he was finding it very hard not to take it.

“To tell me what, Sam?”

“That… I love you” Sam finally confessed and, even though he didn’t know how his words were going to be received, he fell like a weight had been taken from his shoulders after months of silence. “I’ve loved you for a long time, and I know you only _think_ you might be in love with me, but if you could just give us a chance… My love will be enough for the both of us until you’re sure”

“You love me?” Blaine asked, astounded. He had imagined Sam had feelings for him, but to hear he had been in love with him for so long…

“More than anything in this world. And I have for a long time, but I… I couldn’t say anything before” Now that he had started, Sam wanted to let it all out.

“Why?”

“Because… you loved Kurt” Sam answered, as if that would explain anything.

“Wait. So you just wanted to hear me say I didn’t want to go back together with Kurt before saying anything? Why?” Blaine asked.

“Because I didn’t know how much you remembered about the day before you had the accident, if you remembered you had decided you didn’t want to be with him anymore. I couldn’t tell you I love you because if you still wanted to give him a chance I wouldn’t want you to carry the burden of my unrequited feelings. You didn’t need that. I wouldn’t have said anything, just like I never did before”

“You’re amazing, Sam” Blaine said with full admiration.

Sam smiled nervously at Blaine’s words, and decided to trust his luck even further when he cupped Blaine’s cheek and looked intently at him. He could still see so much confusion in his eyes, but also all the love that made Blaine who he was. Sam slowly bended towards him, giving Blaine time to stop him if he wanted, but when he didn’t, Sam finally closed the space between them and captured Blaine’s lips with his own in a slow kiss.

Blaine half breathed half moaned against the other’s lips, and when Sam deepened the kiss, he let him. He felt Sam’s both hands tenderly holding his neck, and he put his own arms around Sam’s torso, bringing him closer to him so he could feel the warmth of his body. His heart was beating faster than ever, and just the thought of Sam’s sweet lips on his was making him lightheaded. Everything was Sam –his taste, his smell, his warmth– and he couldn’t even think.

But he had to; he needed to keep a cool head for both their own goods so he gently broke the kiss and he looked at Sam while trying to regain his breath, while trying to find the right words. Only when Sam’s face approached his again, he was able to speak.

“Wait, Sam” Blaine pleaded as gently as he could, a little out of breath because of the kissing and all the emotions fighting in his chest.

“I’m sorry, the last thing I wanted was to rush you into anything” Sam immediately apologized, afraid he had scared the other boy with his impetuousness.

“No, don’t apologize” Blaine begged him, taking Sam’s hand in his. “It’s just… I’m a little overwhelmed at everything happening today”

“I know, I’m sorry” how could he have been so stupid to rush it like that, Sam thought. “You just broke it up with Kurt and…”

“No. This is not about Kurt at all” Blaine immediately denied.

“Isn’t it?”

“No. I never told you this, but back at the day I met him for a coffee, when Kurt was telling me he wanted to be with me again and he was promising the moon to me, I could only see your face, Sam. I could only think about you, and how nothing Kurt could do would ever compare to you. That’s how I knew I could never go back to him”

Sam smiled, his face full of hope, as he squeezed Blaine’s hand once again. Maybe he hadn’t screwed it up so bad, after all.

“But all of this… this accident… I don’t know, it kind of shook me” Blaine continued. “Not like a traumatizing experience or anything but… it has brought us to an even closer and more intense level in our friendship, or relationship, or whatever this is. And I’m terrified, Sam”

“Why?” Sam asked.

“This is just going so fast…” Blaine lamented.

“We can go as slowly as you need”

“But we can’t, Sam” Blaine denied. “That’s the problem”

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, Sam, it’s us. It’s Blam. There is nothing slow or not intense about us. We know each other inside out. I mean, we’ve been living together for four years, come on! The moment we start a relationship, it will be on full mode. And I’m so scared to lose you if things don’t go as planned…” Blaine said, with eyes getting glassy again at the prospect of hurting the person who meant the most to him.

“You’re never going to lose me, Blaine” Sam promised, bringing a thumb to Blaine’s face to erase the offending stray tear falling down his cheek.

“You never know. Have you ever been in a relationship that didn’t end?” Blaine asked, and Sam closed his eyes for a second at Blaine’s harsh truth.

“No” Sam, admitted. “But none of them were you”

“Oh Sam…” Blaine exclaimed with a little sob that he couldn’t stop.

“Blaine, please, stop it” Sam pleaded, tenderly cupping Blaine’s cheeks to get him to look at him. “We don’t have to do this now. We can talk about it again once you’re on your feet again. You don’t need this kind of stress right now, and I shouldn’t have brought it on you yet, not today. I’m sorry”

“No, I’m sorry” Blaine apologized, although he didn’t know what he was apologizing for. He just felt he was hurting Sam, and that was something he couldn’t bear.

“You have nothing to be sorry for. And if you don’t feel the same as I do… that’s okay, I can deal with it” Sam tried to comfort him, because if there was something he couldn’t stand, it was seeing Blaine cry. Especially if he had been the cause for it.

“My feelings for you are very strong, Sam, you need to know that, but they’re confusing me” Blaine explained, feeling the need of making Sam understand what was going on in his head and in his heart. “I’m not used to be put first in everything, like you do with me, Sam. You’re the greatest person I’ve ever met, and surely the one I hold in my heart more dearly. I am so grateful to you for all you’ve done for me… But I’ve been with Kurt for almost six years and it’s still too painful and recent for me to be thinking clearly. I can’t start something with you while I’m feeling so vulnerable and so grateful because I’m very scared of mistaking my feelings and hurting you. I need some time to think this through, to know who I am and what I want. I don’t want you to be a rebound”

“I know you would never do that, but I can wait, Blaine. I know it’s too soon, that’s why I hadn’t said anything until now. I’ll wait as long as you need” Sam promised, the hope in his heart never breaking. Blaine had said he had strong feelings for him, and that was enough to keep him strong.

“I just need to be sure. I would never forgive myself if I caused you any pain. You said you could love me for the both of us until I’m sure, but that’s not fair for you. I can’t risk hurting you. You understand, right?” Blaine asked, sounding so desperate to be understood that Sam heart broke, and he immediately put his arms around the shorter boy and embraced him to his chest as strongly as he dared due to his injured ribs.

“Yeah, Blaine, of course I understand” he assured him, his hand moving to the back of Blaine’s head to caress the curls falling there.

“But this… it won’t get awkward between us meanwhile, right?” Blaine whispered to Sam’s ear, his voice filled with fear.

“No, of course not. Never” Sam was quick to assure him as his hand comfortingly caressed Blaine’s upper back.

“Can we… be you and me until then? Because I still need my best friend. I don’t want to lose you”

“We are always going to be you and me, Blaine” Sam said, breaking the embrace to look at him, though keeping his hands on Blaine’s shoulders. “You’re never going to lose me, whatever you decide, you hear me?”

“I cannot bear to lose you” Blaine repeated.

“And you’re not going to, I promise. I could never bear to lose you either”

“You understand I’m not saying we can’t happen, right?” Blaine asked, apparently calmer after Sam’s reassurances, taking one of Sam’s hand to hold it against his chest.

“I understand”

“I just need a little time”

“Hey, don’t worry. I get it. As I said, Blaine, I can wait”

“Are you going to be alright?” Blaine asked, genuinely worried about his best friend.

“Hey, of course, don’t worry about me”

“I don’t want to hurt you”

“And you aren’t, I swear” Sam answered with a fond chuckle, reassure by the fact of how much Blaine cared about him and how afraid he was to hurt him. “And do you want to know a secret? I know how this will end. I’m not worrying because I just know. I just have to wait a little longer, that’s all”

“How can you be so sure?” Blaine asked with a little hopeful smile of his own.

“Because we’re too great not to happen. And as oblivious as you get sometimes, even you will be able to see it soon” Sam joked, booping Blaine’s nose hoping to elicit a grin, which he did.

“I really hope so” Blaine answered with all honesty, and he kissed Sam’s knuckles before letting go of his hand.

“And now, young man, I think you should take a nap” Sam mockingly admonished him, jumping down from the bed to put it back in an horizontal position. “You’ve had a long day, and I think you need a rest.”

“Do you… want to lie down here with me?” Blaine asked, and Sam could see he still needed the reassurance that they were okay, so he answered with a reassuring smile. Once the bed was back in its original position, Blaine turned on his side to leave some space from his friend and Sam lost no time in lying down behind him. The warmth of Sam’s chest on his back and the light grip he kept around his waist so as not to hurt his ribs felt weirdly intimate and wonderful. And the satisfied sigh Sam let go on the back of his neck only told him this was exactly the place where Sam wanted to be too, and that made him feel loved and protected, and reassured him that, whatever happened, Sam was going to remain at his side.

“If a nurse walks in right now she’s going to think we’re together” Sam suddenly blurted, causing Blaine to laugh so loud he immediately winced at the pain on his middle –though he didn’t regret it.

“Sam, you practically live here, they already think we’re together” Blaine answered between laughs.

“That would explain why they keep giving me all the information instead of your brother” Sam commented, everything making sense to him all of a sudden.

“Probably”

“And why some of them go “ _awww”_ everytime they come in and I’m so much as sitting next to you while you sleep”

“Well, we are adorable” Blaine said.

“That we are” Sam agreed with a little smile as he squeezed Blaine’s middle to him, closing his eyes as he filled his nostrils with Blaine’s essence, and feeling deep in his heart that, even if slowly, they were going in the right direction.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you feel like killing me? Even I feel like killing me, so... ;)


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So today's the last day of my holildays, as I'm starting a new job tomorrow... I'll try to keep the same pace with the updating, but I might be a little (just a little) slower from now on. Thanks for your patience!

Blaine couldn’t erase the smile on his face as he looked through the window of the cab taking him home again, after more than a week in that damned hospital room. It felt good to be free again, even if he knew he still had to behave for a few more days in order for his ribs to heal completely. He still wouldn’t be able to go to class or work, or even resume his morning running, but he was still deliriously happy at going home.

His smile only widened even more when his hand was grabbed and squeezed by the person sitting next to him, the same person who had been at his side and taking care of him since it all started. And by the look on his face, Sam was as happy as he was about their release –yes, _their_ release, because Sam had been locked up in that room almost as much as he had.

“You look happy” Sam pointed out.

“I am!” Blaine answered, enthusiastically. “I feel like I can breathe again! The nurses were great and everything, but they were kind of…”

“Omnipresent?” Sam finished for him.

“Yes, exactly! I can wait to have a little privacy and freedom of movement, to tell you the truth!”

“Well, I’m feeling obliged to remind you that both me and Cooper are going to be constantly on your back until you’re a hundred per cent well, so maybe it’s not going to change that much” Sam joked, although both of them knew there was a lot of truth in his words.

Blaine pouted for a second, making Sam chuckle, but then shrugged his shoulders in resignation and smiled again.

“It’s still going to be better. It feels good to be looked after by people you love, so…” Blaine answered, and as soon as he realized what his words meant he blushed furiously, though Sam pretended not to notice so as not to embarrass him any further –though he had to fight the urge to smile again at how cute Blaine looked when he got embarrassed.

“Well, I hope you don’t have to regret your words when you can’t put up with us any longer” Sam warned him.

“I’m sure I won’t. Plus I can’t wait to be able to watch a real television with a big screen!” he sounded so enthusiastically childlike that Sam had to laugh. “Your laptop was very useful, don’t get me wrong, but you know what I mean”

“Yeah, I know! And I can’t wait for some videogames too, I’ve surely missed them!” Sam added, and Blaine couldn’t help but felt the usual rush of gratitude at how Sam had left everything aside just to be with him. “Will you play with me later, Blainey bear?” Sam pleaded, making his best puppy face while he rested his head in Blaine’s head.

“I don’t know, Sam, you know I’m still mortally wounded…” Blaine answered, his voice serious but his face telling Sam he was not going to be able to resist for long.

“Pleeeeease?” Sam whined, and Blaine finally relented with a loud and exaggerated sigh.

“Alright, but just because you’re going to cook for me”

“When did I agree to that?”

“You just did” Blaine explained with a mischievous grin.

“Oh, okay” Sam answered with a shrug of his shoulders, and both ended up chuckling at their usual nonsense.

**********

Sam carefully held Blaine around his waist as they crossed the door to their apartment, helping him to keep his balance. He wasn’t even sure that Blaine needed it, but so many days in bed were bound to leave anyone lightheaded and weak, right? Especially if their ribs were still tender and his arm in a sling. Not that the sling would be any hindrance to Blaine’s walking, really. Okay, so maybe he was just worrying too much.

“Sam, I don’t need help to walk” Blaine said with a chuckle. Really, Sam could swear Blaine could read his mind sometimes.

“Yes, you do when it is obvious that it hurts” Sam insisted, very carefully helping Blaine to sit on the sofa. “I saw you wincing while I was helping you out of the car”

“Well, yeah, that hurt a little, but I still can walk” Blaine explained, though the hiss he couldn’t hide as he tried to straighten his body on his sitting position clearly belied his words. “And I can most surely sit here without you watching me like a hawk” he said, chortling, as Sam had still not moved and was watching him quite intently.

“Well, I know you are crazy enough to suddenly start dancing or jumping on top of the furniture or that kind of things you do” Sam answered, only half joking, as he took a cushion to put in the coffee table and carefully lifted Blaine’s legs on top of it. “Someone has to keep an eye on you”

“Ok, I may be a little crazy, but I’m not that crazy”

“So you admit it hurts?”

“Yes, of course it hurts. Just… not so bad”

“I’ll still feel better if you let me take care of you a little” Sam replied, more honestly this time, as he sat down next to his friend and squeezed Blaine’s thigh.

“Be my guest. I’ve never had a servant before” Blaine joked, resting against the back of the sofa with his hands behind his neck.

“Don’t push your luck, young man” Sam warned him pointing his finger at him.

“Cooper isn’t coming?” Blaine asked after a minute, realizing they had lost sight of him when they left the hospital and he had yet to arrive.

“No, he said he had a date and that we would have the apartment for ourselves for a while and then he winked an eye at me. I don’t know what he imagines is going to happen”

“That’s just Cooper” Blaine answered, a little embarrassed. “Hey, what are those?” he suddenly asked as he saw a bunch of completely dry flowers on the big table.

“Oh” Sam blushed. “I had forgotten about them”

“Were they… for me?” Blaine asked, suddenly remembering about the dinner they were supposed to share the night of his accident.

“Would you believe me if I said ‘no’?” Sam answered while biting his lip, not wanting to make Blaine uncomfortable or to feel he was rushing him into making a decision about them.

Blaine didn’t answer for a minute, too moved for words at Sam’s nice gesture, but the smile on his face clearly showed how much he loved them.

“They’re dead now anyway, I’ll get rid of them” Sam announced, standing up with the intention of doing so, but Blaine stopped him.

“Don’t” he asked him, and Sam turned around in surprise, the vase still in his hands.

“Why not? They’re a mess”

“They’re beautiful” Blaine simply answered, because to him, even if they were dry, they were the most beautiful flowers he had ever seen.

“Come on, B, don’t be stupid, let me throw them away” Sam insisted, but the dreamy expression on Blaine’s eyes didn’t let him move.

“No, I won’t. They’re mine, right? I want to keep them” Blaine pleaded with a pout. “At least for a day. Just… give them to me, please”

Sam sighed as he relented, but couldn’t help a little smile when Blaine took the vase of his hand and ridiculously tried to smell the flowers before making a big show at putting them on the coffee table.

“Thank you, Sam” Blaine said with a grateful smile that went directly to warm Sam’s heart.

“Should we watch a movie or something?” Sam asked, wanting to change subjects so as not to get any more embarrassed.

“Yeah, great! We could watch…” Blaine immediately was going to make a suggestion, but Sam beat him to it.

“No, I don’t think so” Sam immediately interrupted.

“What? I didn’t even say anything yet”

“It’s my turn to pick up the movie. I can’t deal with any more singing before I’m going crazy! The only thing I want to hear are explosions and shots and simple and sassy dialogs for once!” Sam enlightened his friend, trying hard not to laugh at Blaine astounded expression.

“Hey, I’m convalescing, I should be the one to choose!” Blaine mockingly protested.

“I thought you said you were okay!”

“I thought you said I wasn’t!”

“Well, I was obviously wrong and you’re perfectly fine, so get ready for some _Avengers_ , bitch!” Sam happily exclaimed, already moving to the shelf to grab the DVD case.

“And just yesterday you were complaining about having watched _The princess bride_ too many times!” Blaine complained again, though Sam could easily see that Blaine was just fooling around and he had won that round.

“Well, consider this my revenge, then”

“And here I was, thinking you wanted to take care of me” Blaine pouted once the DVD player and the TV were on and Sam was sitting again next to him.

“And I do, that’s why I’m not making you watch _Gremlins_ ” Sam added.

“Thank God!” Blaine laughed unreservedly.

Sam knew Blaine loved _The Avengers_ almost as much as he did –after all, he was Iron Man’s greatest fan–, and he was only kidding him, so that was the only reason that Sam made him watch him with him. But he realized that they had indeed watched the film quite a few times too many when they both were able to recite half of the dialogs between laughs.

Sam could see Blaine’s head getting lower and lower towards the armrest as the movie progressed, but it wasn’t until he was silent for a couple of minutes that Sam realized he had fallen asleep.

“Really, B? Again?” Sam whispered, fondly shaking his head at his sleepy friend. He couldn’t reproach him, though: he was still on medication, and it was his first day out of the hospital; he was bound to get tired.

Afraid that Blaine’s position couldn’t be the most comfortable for his tender ribs, he carefully picked Blaine’s legs from the table and brought them to his own lap. That way Blaine body was straighter and Sam could enjoy the light weight of his legs on him while he got to lazily caress his calves. Sam got his own legs on the coffee table, on top of the cushion Blaine wasn’t using anymore, and smiled at how familiar and comfortable the scene felt to him as he continued watching his favorite movie –turning down the volume a bit so as not to disturb Blaine’s sleep.

The movie was long over, and Sam had been flipping through the TV channels when Cooper finally appeared.

“I’m home!” he loudly announced, obviously happy to come back to a non empty house.

“Schhhh!” Sam shushed him, and when Cooper made his way towards them, he could see why.

“Sorry” he apologized with a guilty smile.

“He keeps falling asleep on me, I’m starting to thing I bore him” Sam joked in a whisper.

“I think he’s just making up for years of insomnia in just a few days” Cooper replied. “Hey, I brought some Chinese for dinner, I’ll leave it on the kitchen”

Meaning to follow Cooper, Sam very carefully lifted Blaine’s legs and slipped from under him to get up. He lowered the shorter boy’s legs on the couch again and he smiled fondly as Blaine curled on himself and continued sleeping, his face looking much younger than he already was. Sam took the blanket they kept on the back of the sofa and tenderly covered his friend so he wouldn’t get cold and then, after making sure Cooper was not in the room, he rested a soft kiss on Blaine’s curls.

“Did you let him sleep?” Cooper asked when Sam entered the kitchen. “We should eat this before it gets too cold”

“We can reheat it again in the microwave if we need to. After not moving for so many days, he must be tired after the trip from the hospital, a little nap will do wonders for him” Sam explained with a little shrug of his shoulders.

“Sam, he was carried on a wheelchair to the cab’s door, and from the cab to the door of your building. I wouldn’t call that a strenuous activity” Cooper contradicted him, clearly amused at Sam’s overprotection at his little brother.

“And what about all the way up here?”

“You have an elevator!”

“Well, he still had to walk to it, right?”

“Oh my God, Sam, you spoil him so much!” Cooper exclaimed with a chuckle, and even if Sam knew it was true, he couldn’t bring himself to stop doing it.

“Maybe… but someone has to take care of him, you know he’s not that good doing that himself” he defended himself, and Cooper had to agree to that.

“He’s lucky he has you” Cooper said, more seriously this time.

“I’m the lucky one” Sam answered with a dreamy expression on his eyes that didn’t go unnoticed to the astute older man.

“Sam, can I ask you a question?” Cooper asked, having the feeling that if he didn’t intervene somehow, those two idiots may never get anything done.

“Of course” Sam answered nonchalantly, although he was slightly afraid he knew where that was going.

“Do you… do you have feelings for my brother?” Cooper already knew the answer to that, after being around them for a week and the conversation he held with his brother a few days ago, but he wanted to hear it from Sam’s lips.

“Mmm… kind of” Sam admitted, his cheeks flushing slightly.

“And that means…”

“What would you think if… if I told you I’m in love with him?” Sam confessed, surprised at himself at how easily that had come out –but then it was always easy to talk to Cooper about serious matters, once he stopped mocking you.

“I’d be quite glad” Cooper answered in all honesty.

“Really?” Sam asked with a hopeful smile.

“Sam, I know I can be quite a pest sometimes, and I like giving you a hard time every now and then, but I really like you. And what’s even more important, I really like you for my brother”

“Thank you, Cooper. It’s nice to know I’ve got you on my side”

“But wait, what is this?” Cooper asked. “Are you like… asking for my permission or something? Maybe you should tell him instead of me”

“I did” Sam confessed, hesitantly. He wasn’t sure he shouldn’t be talking about that with Cooper behind Blaine’s back.

“And?”

“And… maybe he should tell you about it himself if he wants to, after all. I feel like I’m betraying his trust”

“Oh don’t worry, he would tell me sooner or later, and he knows I just worry about him” Cooper reassured him, seeing that Sam needed to talk –and dying to know what had happened, of course. “So what did he say?”

“That… he had feelings for me too”

“And?” Cooper encouraged him to continue with an anxious smile.

“And that he needed some time”

“Damned brother of mine…” Cooper lamented. “He just thinks too much, doesn’t he?”

“Well, I understand him” Sam admitted sadly. “I think I rushed into things telling him so soon after he broke it up with Kurt”

“No, Sam. Kurt’s been out of the picture for months now. He needs to put all that behind him and start looking ahead of him. And that’s where you are” Cooper explained, always the practical one.

“I know, but… he is not sure if he’s in love with me. He is afraid of mistaking his gratitude as something else and get me hurt”

Cooper sighed at Sam’s explanation. He knew his brother well, and he knew that tendency he had about overthinking everything to a grueling point, that panic he got about making a mistake every time he had to made a decision. Even when everything was clear and easy, Blaine would find a way to make it more complicated. And if on top of everything he was afraid of hurting his best friend, Cooper knew it wasn’t going to get any easier.

“Sam, you just… please, be patient with him” Cooper pleaded in behalf of his brother, putting his arm around Sam’s shoulders in a comforting gesture. “He is very smart but he can be a little slow sometimes, you know? I guess he’s been betrayed so much along his life that it takes a lot for him to trust”

“He knows he can trust me, I’ll never hurt him” Sam promised.

“It’s him he doesn’t trust, Sam. Once he decides to care about someone, he gives all of himself to them and… he’s been wrong too many times now for him to trust himself to make the right decision”

“I wish I could make him see how great we could be together” Sam lamented with a faraway gaze on his eyes.

“He will see it, Sam. I’ve never seen him so at ease with anyone as he is with you. Not even me, and surely not with Kurt. That’s how I know he’ll come around soon, once he overcomes his fears. Because you’re his source of strength, and his… everything”

“I really hope you’re right, Coop” Sam responded, and it was then that Cooper saw his brother making his way into the kitchen and he took advantage at the fact that the boy was rubbing his eyes to let go of Sam and erase any suspicion of what they had been talking about.

“Oh look, Sleeping Beauty decided to join the living again” Cooper mocked his younger brother.

“Were you talking about me?” Blaine asked suspiciously, his voice hoarse with sleep, but Cooper was again quick to react.

“Yeah, Blaine, that’s all we do all day, talk about you” he replied with sarcasm, and playfully punched his brother in the arm for good measure.

Blaine didn’t believe them for a minute, as he might be oblivious sometimes but he was sure they had been talking about him. But he couldn’t bring himself to get angry or annoyed at them for that, considering they were the two people he knew loved him most in the world and, whatever they were talking about, he knew it was for his own good. Besides, they both had been so great to him while he was injured, that he could only feel grateful. Plus he couldn’t deny he loved how well those two got along. It surely hadn’t been like that with Kurt, and if him and Sam finally got together… Well, it would be nice for them three to be able to hang out as a family.

“I brought some Chinese, are you hungry?” Cooper asked Blaine, bringing him out of his reverie.

“I guess” he answered.

“Well, you’re going to eat, don’t think I haven’t noticed how little you’ve been eating at the hospital”

“Have you tried hospital food?” Blaine sarcastically asked his brother as he picked up some plates from the counter to take them to the table at the living room, but Sam immediately took them from him with a smile. “Sam, I think I can carry a few plates”

“Just in case” Sam called from the living room, and Cooper and Blaine shared a knowing smile before Blaine followed his friend to the living room.

“So…” Cooper hesitated as he arrived after his brother. “I’m leaving tomorrow”

“What? Already?” Blaine asked with a frown, and it really pained Cooper to disappoint him.

“Yeah, my agent called this morning and… well, apparently Michael Bay was quite happy with my little part in _Transformers V_ and he wants me to audition for his next project”

“Really?” Blaine asked, his face lightning with enthusiasm.

“Yeah! And for a much bigger part, I would be the star’s best friend!”

“What? That’s amazing!” Blaine was so happy that he almost started jumping, though he refrained before it was too late.

“Yeah, congrats, man” Sam added. “Why aren’t you happier about this?”

“I am happy, of course, but… it doesn’t feel right to go before you’re completely well again” Cooper explained, turning to his brother.

“No, Coop, please, I’ll be alright” Blaine tried to convince him with a grateful smile.

“I’ll take care of him” Sam promised, to which Cooper could only chuckle.

“I don’t have a doubt about that. But… I’m still sorry”

“Don’t be, please, you have to go” Blaine insisted, and it reassured Cooper to no end that he understood. “I’m going to miss you so much, though” Blaine added sadly before falling in his arms and embracing him strongly.

“I’m going to miss you too, squirt” Cooper answered, his voice muffled against Blaine’s neck to hide how close he was to tears. He squeezed his brother close for a couple of seconds and then he broke the embrace and playfully pushed Blaine away from him. “And don’t you start going soppy on me, the dinner is getting cold”

“Aww, it’s so sweet when you get all emotional and embarrassed ” Sam commented, taking a little revenge on all the times Cooper mocked him, but the older man shut him up when he threw a napkin at him.

**********

As soon as they finished eating, they decided to move towards the sofa, as Blaine wasn’t feeling very comfortable sitting on a plain chair for long because of his ribs. He and Sam immediately took the sofa again, and Cooper sat on the armchair

“Hey, Coop” Sam said. “What about a game of _Halo_? Do you like it?”

“Yeah, I love it! I don’t own a console myself but I’ve played a few times. I must warn you I’m very good at it!” Cooper enthusiastically replied.

“Great! At least I get some competition, then! Your brother sucks at it!” Sam casually commented.

“Hey!” Blaine protested.

“I can imagine, he’s been terrible at every possible videogame since he was little” Cooper agreed with him.

“I’m sitting right here, you know?” Blaine insisted, only to be ignored again.

“But well, it’s not surprising when you consider he spent half his childhood with his noise in a book and the other half learning to sing every song of every musical that exists” Cooper added. “He didn’t have the time to properly be a child! Such a nerd from such a young age!”

“Cooper! There are some things that Sam doesn’t need to know!” Blaine complained, making the other men laugh at his expense.

“Like when our mother almost shaved his head so he wouldn’t spend so much time taking care of it?” Cooper explained to Sam, who couldn’t help but openly laugh at he imagined little Blaine worrying about his hair. “He got so distracted with it that his grades were starting to fall”

“That’s not true!” Blaine protested in indignation.

“He still does!” Sam added. “He needs like half an hour in front of the mirror before he dares to leave the apartment”

“Okay, stop this right now, we don’t need to share any more facts about me!” Blaine ordered.

“Oh we do, Blainey” Sam added, laughing at Blaine’s obvious embarrassment.

“No, we don’t! And shame on you, Sam! You asked _me_ to play with you!” Blaine protested, feigning to be deeply offended.

“But B, we can play any other day, Cooper will be gone tomorrow” Sam tried to reason with him between laughs.

“I don’t want to play, it just hurts to be replaced” Blaine explained with a pout.

“Blainey, don’t get angry” Sam pouted back at him, and he could already see the crack in Blaine’s pretence as he was obviously trying really hard not to laugh.

“Don’t make me!” he protested.

“Just come here” Sam offered from his side of the sofa, his arms wide open in invitation for his friend to fall into them.

Blaine sighed in feigned frustration for a second, but then he relented and let himself fall in Sam’s arms, smiling widely when Sam bodily surrounded him with his arms and sloppily kissed his cheek as an apology –while Cooper just grinned stupidly at them, though he didn’t say anything–. Now Blaine was sure they both had been talking about the blond’s feelings back at the kitchen, if Sam dared to be so openly affectionate in front of Cooper, and the latter didn’t make any sarcastic comment. But Blaine couldn’t bring himself to care, if he was honest with himself. He just wanted to remain in that moment, in the warmth of Sam’s embrace, for as long as he could.

“Well, so we can play, then, can’t we?” Cooper said, standing up to pick up the controls and giving one to Sam while he kept one for himself. Blaine was about to lift himself from Sam’s body to let him play, but the latter strengthened the grip around him to stop him.

“No, don’t move, I can play like this” Sam confidently assured him, putting his arms more closely around his friend so he could grab the control with both hands, so Blaine just relaxed and made himself comfortable against Sam’s chest. He guessed that, now that he knew about Sam’s feelings, Sam felt like he didn’t have anything to hide anymore, so he could give free rein to all the demonstrations of affection he felt for his best friend. And as the natural cuddler that he was, Blaine couldn’t be happier about it.

As both men played, suddenly becoming loud children for a while, Blaine couldn’t help but smile at how happy he felt, surrounded by Sam’s arms and love as his brother sat next to them. And even if he didn’t particularly like videogames and he remained silent for most of the time –except to answer Sam every now and then when he asked if he was feeling alright–, he felt that was probably one of the best nights of his life. And he knew it was only in his hands to make every night of his life just like that one.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I'm now in a position to promise that something BIG (I'm not telling you whether is good or bad, though) is going to happen in the next chapter! ;)


	14. Chapter 14

The first thing Cooper did when he woke up was to look at his watch. It wasn’t that late, he was glad to see, or else he would miss his flight back home. He still felt a little guilty about leaving his brother too soon, but he couldn’t let such an opportunity escape, and he was sure Blaine wouldn’t let him anyway.

And speaking of his brother, he wasn’t on the big bed they had shared anymore, so better to gather the strength to and go see how he was doing. After a quick shower, Cooper quickly got dressed and finished packing so he wouldn’t miss his flight, and went in search of his little brother.

“Morning, squirt” Cooper greeted him when he arrived to the kitchen, leaving his suitcase next to the wall, and found Blaine sitting to the table, idly sipping a cup coffee.

“Hey, Coop” Blaine answered, happy to see him. “I was already going to wake you up. Did you sleep well?”

“Yeah, like a log. You don’t move in your sleep half of what you used to when you were little”

“Don’t I? I guess I spared you a night of kicks, then” Blaine answered with a wide smile.

“And how are you feeling today?” Cooper asked, trying not to sound too much like a worrier.

“Actually, I feel great. I guess sleeping in my own bed, even if it was with you, did wonders for me. With the painkillers my ribs hardly hurt anymore, and I’m getting the hang of doing everything with one hand. Hey, I even made coffee. Do you want some?” Blaine offered, about to stand up, but Cooper stopped him with a hand to his shoulder.

“Yes, but I can take it myself, don’t worry” Cooper answered gratefully, and he poured some coffee on a cup for himself and sat across from his brother.

“So is Sam up yet?” Cooper asked, trying to sound casual. He needed to speak with his brother and fix the situation once and for all before he left, considering he didn’t trust Blaine to fix it himself.

“Sam had to go to work today” Blaine explained. “He’s lost a week’s work because of me and he really couldn’t miss any more days. He wanted to say goodbye, but he didn’t want to wake you. But he said it’s better that way because if he didn’t say goodbye you’d feel forced to come back again soon. He really likes you, you know?”

“He must have a thing for the Andersons then, right?” Cooper pointed out.

“Haha, very funny” Blaine answered ironically.

“I was not trying to be” Cooper answered, more seriously this time.

“So I guess you were talking about me last night, after all” Blaine said, without a trace of reproach in his voice. “Did he tell you?”

“Yeah” Cooper answered, not seeing the point in denying it. “And he was pretty clear about how he feels about you. He told me he is in love with you”

“I know” Blaine answered, looking down at his cup so as to avoid his brother’s inquiring gaze.

“And… that you were not so sure about what you felt about him and you needed time”

“Yeah”

“So what is this really all about, Blaine? What are you waiting for?” Cooper asked, as direct as Blaine expected him to be.

“I just… I need to be sure about what I feel for him before there’s no turning back” Blaine answered, knowing full well that Sam wasn’t going to accept it.

“I always knew you could get really thick sometimes, but little brother, this time you’ve excelled yourself! Do you really think this is something you can stop?”

“What do you mean?”

“You don’t just have feelings for Sam… you’re in love with him” Cooper felt stupid javing to explain that to the person in question, but well… “Even I can tell and I only have been here for a week. And he is in love with you too. You two live together, have each other’s back, understand each other… You even want to spend every minute of every day with each other! What more do you need to take a step forward? What’s stopping you?”

“I’m… afraid” Blaine confessed, and even he could sense how his reasons were getting weaker and weaker every time he said them.

“Of what?”

“Of how real and intense everything is. My feelings for him frighten me”

“Why?”

“I can’t lose him” Blaine explained, desperate to make his brother understand. “I know I could never go on without him”

“And who says you have to?” Cooper asked, slightly raising his voice as he grabbed Blaine’s upper arm across the table to make him react. “Blaine, I’ve never seen two people more perfect for each other, why do you have to assume it’s going to fail?”

“I don’t. But I’m afraid to risk it”

“I’m sorry, brother, but you both reached a point of no turning back. I know you think you can keep being friends with him and everything will be alright, but it won’t” Sometimes Cooper could get really serious and brutally honest, in spite of how uncomfortable he made the other person. “Both of you are suffering and longing, and it won’t be long until everything blows up in your face. You said so yourself: your feelings are so strong that they frighten you. Do you really think you can keep ignoring them?”

“It’s all happening so fast…” Blaine tried to find more excuses, but once again Cooper didn’t want to listen.

“But it really isn’t, is it? Sam told me he had made a mistake rushing into things too soon, but if you ask me, I don’t see the sense in waiting for something you already have”

Blaine sighed, deep in thought, and Cooper didn’t say anything for a minute, just letting his words sink in. He wanted to get some sense into his brother but, in the end, the final decision was his too take and pressing him was not going to do any good.

“Well, I can’t tell you what to do, you’ll have to decide yourself” Cooper finally said, his voice much calmer again.

“I wish you could tell me what to do, like when I was a kid” Blaine answered, with a nostalgic smile.

“You didn’t like it so much back then” Cooper reminded him with a smile to match.

“I know, but everything was so easy back then…”

“Well, welcome to the real world” Cooper patted Blaine’s arm in sympathy before getting up to grab his suitcase.

“I wish you didn’t have to go” Blaine said, clearly sad, as Cooper started putting on his coat.

“I know, but I really can’t miss this chance, can I? And you know that girl I dated yesterday? She wants to see me again, how crazy are people nowadays? I need to get out of here!” Cooper joked, trying to get his brother to smile before he had to leave.

“Oh, that’s nice, so here you are trying to convince me to commit myself to Sam while you can’t even go out with the same girl twice!”

“Blaine, if I ever find someone with whom I share half of what you have with Sam, believe me when I say I will never let them go”

Both brothers shared a deep silence and a knowing gaze for a few seconds until Cooper put his arms firmly around his brother in a close embrace.

“You take care, you hear me?” he whispered in Blaine’s ear, who was hugging him back with the same strength to show him how much he was going to miss his older brother.

“You too” he answered, before breaking the embrace and bending over to take Cooper’s suitcase, though the older brother beat him to it before he lifted any weight.

“I’ll be waiting for your call with the date of your wedding” Cooper joked, never the one to hold a sentimental mood for too long.

“Hahaha, you’re so funny” Blaine ironically answered once again, although he couldn’t help a big grin at his brother’s words.

“And considering your best friend will now be going for the husband role, I’m guessing there’s a vacancy for the best man part, right?”

“You are such an idiot”

“I know but, please, Blaine. Think about it. Don’t be afraid of being happy” Cooper said, turning serious again, and tenderly pinched Blaine’s cheek before turning around and going out of the apartment.

Blaine stood watching his brother leave, already missing him, and just when he was about to close the door, Cooper turned to him with a mischievous grin.

“Just warn me with time to get me a nice suit!” he added, proud of himself at the big laugh he got of his little brother, glad that the last image he got of him until they met again was a huge smile on his face.

_**********_

A couple of hours went by without Blaine knowing what to do –apart from resting, of course, or Sam would have his hide–, and while he got more and more bored by the minute, and his brother’s words were becoming too much on his head, he finally took his laptop to check his e-mails and see if he had something from NYADA he could work on. Unfortunately, there wasn’t, so he ended up looking through his folders to see if he had any movie he could watch. Halfway through it, though, he ended up on his images folder and without really trying he started going through all the pictures of the last years. Always the one to have a camera on his pocket, he had documented and kept every little special moment of his life –and the life of the ones around him.

Though he knew he really shouldn’t, Blaine was kind of surprised when he realized that Sam was in almost every event there, in way a lot more than Kurt. Sam was practically in every birthday, party, trip, and even there were a lot of photoshoots of them just fooling around.

Since leaving the family home, Blaine had visited Cooper in Los Angeles a couple of times, and in both of them it had been Sam accompanying him –Kurt didn’t like Blaine’s brother so much to make such a long trip and he hated sunny California–, so he hadn’t bothered to go to him. And both times they had had the time of their lives, Blaine remembered with a smile as he looked at the pictures of the Anderson brothers and Sam just being relaxed and happy and crazy all around the big city. Blaine knew Sam had a very good relationship with Cooper: he didn’t feel like he had to put up with him, like Kurt did, but he genuinely liked him, and that warmed Blaine’s heart to no extent.

And he didn’t need any picture to remember that damned moment when his father threw him out of the house when Blaine had finally convinced Kurt to meet his parents. His father had never accepted his homosexuality, and they had barely tolerated each other since his coming out at an early age, but the fact the Blaine was bringing a man home and introducing him as his life partner was what sparked off the hateful action. Blaine remembered bitterly how Kurt, instead of supporting him, had made it all about himself, about how humiliated he felt at how he had been treated, and how it was Blaine’s fault for insisting so much that he met his family. Blaine had been depressed for days, even weeks, but it was not Kurt, still angry, the one there for him to pull him out: it was Sam. As always. Sam hadn’t mentioned Kurt’s behavior once, but he had made Blaine understand it was not his fault in any way, that he was perfect and it was his parents’ loss if they couldn’t see it.

And of course it was always Sam who helped him rehearse any song or dance he needed for NYADA, even though Kurt, as an older NYADA student, could have helped him a lot more, but he didn’t. He was always busy, and his projects were always more important because, obviously, he was one year ahead of Blaine and everything Blaine did he had already done it before. Sam had no problem in learning songs, creating choreographies and even play the guitar for him if that could help Blaine in any way. Whatever the circumstances, he would always find the time.

It was those things that made Blaine wonder to which extent his feelings for Sam could be only a huge gratitude for everything he had done for him all through the years. After all, no one had ever done for him as much as Sam since they became best friends in their senior year at high school –nor before–. But something sparkled in his heart when he realized that he had always been there for Sam too, right? He had always wanted him to be happy.

Like when Sam decided being a model wasn’t made for him and he felt so lost and down for some time trying to figure out what to do with his life to the point he almost left New York. But Blaine found that little but prestigious art academy and encouraged Sam to give his artistic talent a try. And when Sam was on board, but he realized he couldn’t pay for it, Blaine had helped him with his own money –not his family’s, who weren’t there anymore, but his own–. He remembered he hadn’t been able to afford a vacation with Kurt that summer –to which Kurt obviously got angry– but just the smile on Sam’s face every day he came from class and told him about what he had learnt was enough for Blaine and he hadn’t regretted it even for a second.

Or like that time when Stacey had been so ill back at Kentucky and Blaine hadn’t even hesitated to travel home with Sam to support him, not wanting for him to be alone, even if it was his anniversary with Kurt and they had plans –that he canceled with a phone call from the airport in their rush to leave as soon as they could.

And boy, he loved Sam’s siblings as if they were his own, too, and he sent them gifts without fail for every one of their birthdays and Christmas even if Sam insisted every time that there was no need for him to do that.

It was not just gratitude, he knew, his heart bursting with happiness at the sudden realization. Blaine had done for Sam as much as Sam for him because he loved him. He was very much in love with him, just as Cooper had said. It was just as simple as that, and the fact that he hadn’t been able to see it sooner made him feel really stupid.

He wondered how he would have felt if Sam had been the one to get run over by a car instead of him. Just thinking about Sam getting injured in any way made a lump appear in his throat. And if his accident had shown him something, that was that everything can change –or end– in a second, and that you need to seize the moment before it’s too late. And that’s what exactly what he intended to do.

_**********_

Sam felt happier than he had felt in weeks as he walked home after a long day of work –boy, he had a lot to catch on after a week off!–, because that’s where Blaine would be waiting for him, and not in a cold hospital room anymore. He couldn’t help but grin like an idiot as he remembered how close and comfortable with each other they had felt the day before: how intimate it felt massaging Blaine’s legs on his lap as the other boy slept, having dinner with Blaine’s brother like they were a family, playing video games as Blaine laid contently in his arms all evening… He didn’t want to rush Blaine again with his impatience, but he really felt as they were getting closer to something. And even if Blaine hadn’t still told him he wanted to be with him, he surely wasn’t keeping him away. If something, they were closer than ever.

And the familiarity and domesticity that made Sam so happy only improved when he opened the door to their apartment and he saw his friend lazily reading a book on the sofa as a delicious smell of cooking filled his nostrils.

“Hey, B” Sam greeted with a smile, as he hung up his coat next to the door.

“Hey, Sammy” Blaine answered, reciprocating his smile as he politely closed the book to give his friend his whole attention.

“So Cooper already gone?” Sam asked, coming closer to the sofa.

“Yeah” Blaine answered with a sad smile.

“Aw, you’re going to miss him”

“Yeah” Blaine nodded, still smiling. “Not as much as you, though, considering how well you got along last night”

“We only enjoy getting a rise out of you every now and then” Sam tried to justify himself.

“Yeah, I could see that” Blaine answered sarcastically.

“Hey, I’m sorry if we made you feel uncomfortable” Sam honestly apologized, but he was relieved when Blaine smiled widely again.

“Sam, I’m joking, I love that you two get along so well” Blaine said after getting up from the sofa and walking to rest his hand on Sam’s shoulder.

“So how are you feeling today?” Sam asked as he followed Blaine towards the kitchen.

“Pretty good, actually. Although I can’t really get much done with this damned cast”

“You don’t?” Sam asked in surprise when they entered the kitchen and he saw everything that Blaine had prepared for their dinner. “So what is all this?”

“I thought it would be pleasant to share a nice cooked dinner with you after so long, even if it’s simpler than usual” Blaine answered with a shrug of his shoulders, a little embarrassed. “You know, as a thank you for how you’ve been taking care of me”

“You shouldn’t have taken the trouble” Sam answered, more moved by Blaine’s gesture that he was letting on. “Besides, you are supposed to rest”

“Believe me, Sam, resting is all I do these days, a little bit of cooking wasn’t going to do me any harm. Plus I’m much better now, my ribs hardly hurt anymore”

“Hardly mean they still do”

“But very little” Blaine insisted.

“Ok, but do you mind if we kind of make a picnic in one of ours rooms? At least that way you’ll get to rest your back better against the headboard while we eat, instead of one of these horrible chairs like yesterday, and we can watch a movie meanwhile. Or better yet, we can start with _Breaking Bad_ ’s last season!”

“It looks like a plan” Blaine agreed with a smile and grabbed the serving dish he had just gotten up from the oven, though one look at Sam’s disapproving face made him give it to the blond immediately. “It’s not heavy at all” Blaine complained.

“You can take a couple of plates, I’ll give you that” Sam answered, already on his way to his room.

“Oh, thank you, you generous human being!” Blaine answered ironically, though he obeyed.

**********

“Ok, so you have to explain to me how you can cook this ridiculously delicious food with only one hand” Sam casually commented, as he came back from carrying all the empty plates and cups to the kitchen –after Blaine had cooked, it was the least he could do.

“It’s not really with one hand, I still have my fingers free in the broken arm, right?” Blaine answered, raising his hand and wriggling his fingers to show him. “Besides, what’s the point in explaining to you how to do this dish if the most difficult thing you ever do are sandwiches?”

“Hey! I can cook” Sam protested.

“Then why don’t you?” Blaine asked with a chuckle.

“Because… I like it when you do it, I feel taken care of. But I can cook, and one of these days I’m going to show you”

“I can’t wait”

“Ok, so _Breaking Bad_ , then?” Sam asked, grabbing the remote to put on the TV show, but Blaine stopped him with a hand to his wrist.

“Sam, before that… I was wondering if… if we could talk?” Blaine hesitatingly asked, obviously nervous all of a sudden.

“Of course” Sam answered, a bit apprehensively, as he again sat next to his friend and waited for him to speak.

Only that no word came out of Blaine’s mouth. Instead his golden eyes fixed intently on Sam’s green ones for a second and, before the blond knew what was happening, Blaine’s hand cupper the back of his neck to get him closer to his and his lips captured Sam’s in a slow kiss that lingered.

Blaine took his time in savoring Sam’s sweet lips, his hand ruffling the blond’s hair tenderly, until he felt Sam starting to respond to the kiss, one of his arms going around Blaine’s waist as his other hand cupped his cheek. He opened his lips to grant access to Sam’s tongue, and they got lost in a sweet battle for dominance until they had to separate to get some much needed air.

“I’m not sure what this means, Blaine” Sam said, still a little breathless, as he rested his forehead against Blaine’s, none of them letting go of the other.

“It means that… I love you” Blaine blurted out, really not knowing how to start the conversation so he skipped to the most important part.

“You… do?” Sam asked, his heart about to burst with happiness, and he slightly bended over backwards to be able to look at the honest expression in Blaine’s face.

“You shouldn’t have to be surprised” Blaine lamented, tenderly placing a lock of Sam’s hair behind his ear. “I should have shown you sooner”

Sam chuckled stupidly, as if he couldn’t believe it was really happening, and then he cupped Blaine’s neck with both hands to bring him close again, kissing him much more fiercely that time.

“Just tell me I’m not dreaming” he was able to say between kisses.

“You’re not dreaming, Sammy” Blaine answered, whispering against Sam’s lips.

Unable to separate his lips from Blaine’s long enough to make a coherent sentence, Sam continued devouring the other’s mouth with desire, his hands getting lost in his soft curls, until Blaine broke the kiss. Sam whined a little in protest, but immediately shut up when he felt Blaine’s lips attacking the skin on his neck.

Sam tilted his head back to give Blaine better access, and the shorter boy took advantage of it to soundly suck on his Adam’s apple. Sam moaned in pleasure and brought his arms more strongly around Blaine’s torso to bring him more closely to him, suddenly feeling he couldn’t have enough of the curly haired guy. Every pore of his skin that Blaine’s lips touched felt like it was on fire, and everything was so intense that for a moment his mind clouded and he couldn’t think about anything that wasn’t Blaine. But everything was so wonderful and so sudden that he worried for a second that maybe he was misunderstanding things.

“Wait a minute…” Sam moved to separate himself from Blaine’s awesome lips and put a finger under his friend’s chin to lift his face towards his. Blaine’s lips were slightly swollen and very red, and his gorgeous eyes were so filled with love and desire, making him look more beautiful than ever, that Sam almost forgot what he wanted to say. “I need to know… Where does this take us?”

“Wherever you want it to take us, Sam” Blaine answered with the sweetest smile Sam had ever received. “I love you and you’re all that matters to me now. I’m all in your hands”

“Really?” Sam still couldn’t believe his ears, even if Blaine’s actions and words were pretty clear about what he wanted. “What changed?”

“Nothing” Blaine admitted with a small laugh, shaking his head. “That’s the thing, it was always under my nose. It just took me a little time to figure it out”

Sam laughed in response, feeling happier than he had ever felt, and he threw his arms around Blaine to embrace him strongly to his chest.

“Does it sound too possessive that I want you to be mine?” he whispered against Blaine’s ear and, even though he couldn’t see his face, he knew that the other one was smiling.

“Not if I want to be yours” Blaine answered honestly.

“Well, I’ll be yours too” Sam seriously explained, breaking the embrace to look at Blaine’s face, and he was happy to elicit a deep laugh from the other boy.

“Yeah, I figured that much” Blaine answered, looking intently at Sam for a couple of seconds until his childlike smile turned into a serene expression of unconditional love that warmed Sam’s heart to no extent.

Sam captured Blaine’s lips again, more slowly and tenderly this time, and very carefully he pushed him towards the mattress until he was lying flat on his back and he climbed onto him, trying not to press all his weight on the smaller man while trying not to break the kiss.

“Maybe we should wait” Sam said after a minute, in spite of himself.

“Really? Do you want to wait until marriage?” Blaine joked.

“No, you jerk” Sam answered, playfully slapping Blaine’s hip as they both laughed out loud. “But your ribs…”

“We will be careful. I know you would never hurt me” Blaine answered, and there was so much trust in his voice and in his eyes that Sam was moved very close to tears.

Smiling at Blaine –not his usual grin, but a different kind of smile that Blaine knew it was reserved only for him–, Sam moved down along Blaine’s body and carefully lifted his sweater to leave a path of kisses all along Blaine’s belly, making his breathing accelerate instantly. Then he carefully rolled-up the sweater and Blaine lifted his arms so Sam could efficiently get it over his head and let it fall on the floor.

Sam sat up for a second, straddling Blaine’s hips, and took his time to drink in the sight that was Blaine’s naked skin, the beauty of which could not be marred even with the still present bruises on his side. It was not like he had never seen him shirtless or naked before, but never before had he seen him exposed like that, only for him, trusting him to take care of him. With his heart about to explode, Sam bended over and again he resumed the discovery of Blaine’s taste through tiny and sweet kisses all along his chest.

“I love you, Blaine” Sam whispered against Blaine’s skin, making him shiver in anticipation.

Blaine sighed, in complete surrender. So that’s what it felt to be worshipped. That’s what Sam had always talked about how he deserved to be cherished. He had never felt that loved before, and he had never loved so intensely as the way he was loving Sam in that exact moment, and he knew right there and then that he had made the right decision.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! :) Please, let me know what you thought of this as I'm still not sure if I'm happy with the result. I'm sorry if you expected some big event or incident that made Blaine realize he was in love with Sam, but I wanted to keep it simpler, more authentic, for him to simply realize what had been under his nose all this time. I hope I didn't disappoint you too much after all the waiting!


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a bit shorter than the rest, because it's just the... aftermath ;) I warn you, it's unsuitable for diabetics, I think I got a couple of cavities just writing it!

The first thing Blaine felt when he woke up was warmth, immediately followed by a heavy burden in one side of his body and a funny tickling on his neck. He only needed a second to realize those three facts could be explained by the fact that Sam –his Sam, from now on– was practically lying on top of him, his arm keeping a fierce grip around Blaine’s waist even in his sleep while one of his legs was shoved between Blaine’s. That would explain the weight that was deliciously crushing him; the fact that both were stark naked probably had a lot to do with how hot he was, considering the amount of skin in contact and all the body heat they were sharing. And the tickling on his neck was obviously Sam’s breath on his skin –given that Sam’s face was hidden in the crook of his neck–, giving him goose bumps every time he exhaled.

A rush of happiness and enthusiasm burst into his heart, making him want to scream and laugh and kick his legs on the mattress so much that he felt ridiculously embarrassed at his own emotions. Not even as a teenager had he ever felt like that. Though that was probably because he had never felt so loved and protected and cherished as he felt in that moment.

It was the first time they had been together. The first time both of them had admitted they loved each other and gave themselves to the other unreservedly. Heck, it was the first time they were lying in a bed together naked after spending the night lost in the most passionate and tender lovemaking they had ever had. It should feel strange, or a little awkward at least, shouldn’t it? But it didn’t. Sam was lying naked all wrapped around him and all Blaine could feel was a calmness and a familiarity that made him feel very comfortable and immensely happy. Everything felt new and familiar at the same time, and that was something Blaine wouldn’t change for anything.

Why the hell had it been so difficult for him to understand it? He suddenly felt angry at himself and at his own stupidity for causing Sam so much suffering, even if he would deny it. Sam was the best person he had ever met, and he had made everything so easy for Blaine… And what had he gotten in exchange? Hesitation. Waiting. Longing.

Blaine remembered Sam’s surprised expression when he told him he loved him. He asked him to tell him he was not dreaming. He needed the assurance that Blaine really wanted to start something with him. How unfair was that? Sam had been nothing but honest and patient with him, and Blaine had paid him with doubts. In trying to avoid Sam getting hurt, he had been hurting him even more, and that was something Blaine would never forgive himself, even if everything else worked out. Tears filled his eyes at how selfish and stupid he had been, and after a couple of minutes wallowing in his own misery, a soft sob escaped his lips and woke the precious boy in his arms.

“Morning” Sam mumbled, eyes still closed and face hidden in Blaine’s neck, and there was such happiness in his slurred voice at finding himself in his lover’s arms that it made Blaine feel even guiltier. “There can’t be a more perfect way to wake up” Sam continued, nuzzling Blaine’s neck before leaving a kiss on the skin under his jaw.

“Yeah” was the only thing Blaine could answer so as not to give his breakdown away, but it was enough for Sam to sense something was not right, and he immediately raised his head to look at Blaine’s face.

“Blaine?” he asked, all sign of happiness immediately erased from his face to be replaced with worry at the sight of Blaine’s tears. “What’s wrong, babe? Are you… regretting what happened last night?”

“No” Blaine assured him with an honest smile, cupping Sam cheeks and looking at him intently. “Not at all, don’t worry. Nothing further from the truth”

“What is it then?” Sam insisted, bringing his knuckles to Blaine’s cheek to caress it, obviously relieved that he wasn’t regretting it but still wanting to know what was making his lover cry.

“I… I just woke up and I felt so loved and secure in your embrace” Blaine didn’t really wanted to talk about it, but he needed to get off to a good start in his relationship with Sam, so it was mandatory to keep a fluid communication about their feelings.

“But that’s a good thing, right?” Sam asked, totally confused.

“Yes. It is. It’s the best feeling I could hope for” Blaine answered with an adoring smile. “But then I felt so guilty…”

“About what? Kurt?” Sam asked with a stab of fear in his heart.

“No” Blaine denied without hesitation, giving Sam the ability to breathe again. “Well, yes, but not in the way you think. I felt guilty that it took me so long to see that it was never about Kurt. It was always you”

“But why would you feel guilty, you silly?” Sam asked with a fond smile, resting a kiss on the top of Blaine’s nose. “Everything is falling into place now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah but… I’m so sorry” Blaine apologized, his voice breaking at all the love he could see in Sam’s eyes. “I’m sorry I’ve been hurting you for so long”

Sam, not really knowing what to do to comfort the other boy, put his arms around Blaine and reversed their positions, so he was lying on his back with Blaine carefully wrapped up on his chest, and squeezed him strongly as he kissed the top of his head.

“You’ve never hurt me, Blaine, what are you talking about?” Sam asked, confused.

“How long have you been suffering because I was too stupid to understand what was going on?” Blaine asked, a soft sob escaping his throat against his will.

“Hey, stop it. Stop” Sam told him firmly, lifting Blaine’s face with a finger under his chin so he would look at him. “You didn’t know about my feelings, and it was my decision to make sure it would remain this way. It’s not your fault at all, Blaine”

“But still…”

“No buts. I don’t care about anything before this moment, before right now, ok?”

“Really?” Blaine asked, his eyes full of hope.

“I promise. It was worth the wait” Sam explained with a smile, which widened impossibly when Blaine deposited a chaste kiss on the naked skin of his shoulder.

“Was it?” Blaine asked, needing a little bit more of reassurance.

“Of course it was” Sam said, before his expression turned into a small frown. “‘Cause we’re… like together now, right?”

“Of course, Sam” Blaine answered with a chuckle, nesting his face even further on Sam’s neck and sighing in comfort. “There is no other way”

“So I can call you… my boyfriend now?” Sam asked, and he was glad when Blaine chuckled.

“I would love that”

“Wow. I feel like I’m dreaming” Sam said while ruffling Blaine’s soft hair, chuckling when Blaine groaned at his action. “Like this is too good to be true”

“It is good, and here I am, ruining the moment. I’m sorry I got so emotional, I don’t know what came over me” Blaine apologized again, clearly more calmed now.

“Hey, no. Look at me, Blaine” Sam asked him, and Blaine’s face came out of his hidden place on Sam’s neck to grant him his wish. “Never, and I mean never, apologize to me for showing me your feelings, okay? I don’t like seeing you cry, but I want to know when you do so I can make it better, ok?”

“Ok” Blaine answered, moved that Sam cared about him so much. No one had ever cared so much about his feelings before, and it made Blaine feel completely vulnerable and defenseless, though not in a bad way because he knew Sam would never take advantage of it.

“You’ve only been through so much lately, why, with Kurt’s breakup, the stress of the last months of your degree, and then your accident… Of course you’re going to be overwhelmed, you’re just human. A very beautiful one, but a human after all” Sam continued, obviously on the mission of making his boyfriend feel better. “And besides, it’s okay that you got so emotional, as you say. It means that you care about this a lot”

“I care about you” Blaine answered, with the tenderest smile Sam had ever seen, before he rested his curly head on his own hand while looking at him, his elbow on the mattress. Even with the cast, his other arm was on Sam’s chest, trailing invisible patters on his skin with the tip of his fingers.

“You’re not afraid anymore?” Sam asked, remembering Blaine’s words from the day he had confessed about his feelings for the smaller boy.

“Oh, I am. A lot” Blaine answered, chuckling. “But I guess my love for you is stronger than my fear”

“You don’t have to be afraid, though, because I positively know everything is going to be alright” Sam reasoned with him, playing with the curls behind Blaine’s ear. “We’re made for each other, you know? There is no way this can go wrong, because we already know everything about each other and we are in love in spite of that, so… Besides, nothing is going to change that much, really, right? I mean just add the kissing and the amazing sex to the picture. ‘Cause the sex was amazing, you can’t deny that” Sam added with a mischievous smile that made Blaine laugh and blush at the same time, warming Sam’s heart in an instant with his innocence. “The point is… we already had the rest”

“You’re so right. And maybe…” Blaine started, fluttering his long eyelashes at his lover seductively.

“What?” Sam asked, unable to keep a smile out of his face at Blaine’s improved mood and obvious playfulness.

“A few pet names?” Blaine pleaded with an adorable pout. “I mean, can I call you honey some time?”

“Mmmm” Sam feigned to consider it deeply. “Only if I get to call you sweetie”

“Deal. But you can’t call me _dude_ or _bro_ anymore” Blaine warned him, pointing at him for good measure.

“Why not?”

“Because it’s the less romantic thing you can imagine! You can’t go calling your boyfriend _hey, dude_ , right?”

“It doesn’t sound that bad to me if I add “I love you” after that”

“You’re right, as long as you tell me that you can call me whatever you want” Blaine answered, melting in Sam’s arms as he rested his face again on Sam’s chest.

“Even Cyclops, considering I’m Wolverine?” Sam joked, glad to elicit the reaction he was expecting on his boyfriend.

“I’m Wolverine!” Blaine sat up in a jump, mockingly infuriated.

“I said it first once again, sorry, dude” Sam answered playfully, the _dude_ term escaping his lips before he was even aware of it.

“Ok, I’m leaving now” Blaine threatened, turning his back to Sam to run off by the other side of the bed, but of course Sam stopped him before he was too far.

“Noooo!” Sam half yelled, half whined, putting both his arms around Blaine’s waist to stop him from moving, even if the shorter man was not giving much of a fight and ended up letting himself be pulled to Sam’s chest again.

“Does that mean I get to be Wolverine?” Blaine asked, and Sam snorted at that.

“Of course not” He answered, as if he couldn’t believe Blaine would ask him something like that. “I love you and everything but… this is Wolverine we’re talking about! But you can be Magneto, if you want. Young Magneto is pretty awesome. And hot”

“But he’s the bad guy!” Blaine protested.

“There’s just no pleasing you sometimes!”

“I’m supposed to be a hero, I don’t want to be the villain” Blaine whined, and even if Sam knew he was totally playing, he still kissed his forehead to make the offending frown go away.

“You can be Charles Xavier then, he is good, right?” Sam offered, but then he thought better of it. “Wait, no you can’t, he goes bald with time and I can’t imagine you bald. Oh my God, never get bald, you hear me?” Sam begged him, making Blaine laugh wholeheartedly at their stupid dialog, while Sam’s hand moved again to Blaine’s hair to entwine the dark curls with his fingers. “I would so miss your curls! Your curls really turn me on, had I mentioned that?”

“And here I was, thinking about cutting my hair really short so the curls would stop giving me such a hard time” Blaine honestly answered, but he already knew Sam really loved his hair and he would let himself be convinced to keep the curls.

“Noooo, please, don’t do it! I’ll take care of them myself if I have to, but I need to be able to bury myself into these pretty curls” Sam joked, getting his face hidden in Blaine’s long hair to prove his point.

“You’re really an idiot sometimes, Sam Evans” Blaine said, laughing in spite of himself.

“You were supposed to say _crazy_ , so I could answer with a _I’m crazy about you_ ”

“Really? Are you going to start using phrases on me now?” Blaine looked at him, as if he was daring him to say another one.

“Only every now and then” Sam explained with a shrug of his shoulders.

“I’ve got one for you, then”

“Really? Which one?”

“I love you” Blaine said with an adoring smile, and Sam had to remind himself to breathe after that, still not daring to believe his biggest dream had come true.

“I like that one. But you know what? I love you more” Sam responded, pushing Blaine on his back and hovering over him, their lips almost touching but not quite yet, as Sam teased him just breathing impossibly close to him.

“That’s impossible” Blaine stated, only half joking.

“Don’t dare me, Blaineybear” Sam warned him, and he finally closed the distance between them to kiss him breathless as Blaine’s arms closed around his neck.

**********

A couple of hours later, Cooper Anderson felt a buzzing in his pocket soon after he finished his audition. It had gone really well, or at least he thought that, and he expected to hear from the casting director soon. Thinking things couldn’t get better, he took his phone out of his pocket and unblocked the screen. He saw he had a couple of missed calls, both of them from his little brother, who had called him while he was auditioning.

He wondered what Blaine wanted –probably to ask about his audition, Blaine was always very thoughtful– and he was about to call his brother back when he received a very short but meaningful message from him: _I dared to be happy :)_

Smiling like an idiot, Cooper felt that sometimes the universe got everything right, and feeling incredibly happy, he lifted his fist in victory, not caring about the curious glances he was receiving from everyone around him as he put his phone to his ear to call his brother and get every single detail he could.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you survived all the sugar, then? :)
> 
> Some of you asked me if the story was already finished on the previous chapter... Well, it wasn't, but I have to say there will probably be only a couple more chapters :( The thing is this story was made around a main objective, which was Blam. Once that happened... there is no point in going on without a real plot, right?
> 
> But here is a big BUT. I'm thinking about writing another Blam story, which already has three or fours scenes designed and written. It could very well work as a second part to this one, picking up from where this one ends, with a stablished relationship between them in the same universe and timeline and everything. A bit dramatic, of course, you know me ;) Do you think it could be interesting? I really don't want to leave these characters just yet...
> 
> I don't know, I'll keep thinking about it. Meanwhile, enjoy the last chapters! And thank you all, you're all so great!


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter is quite long, have your insuline near while you read it ;)

After a week since Sam had gone back to work –the best week of his life, considering it was the exact same time he had been officially dating Blaine– he felt he was finally catching up with all the work that had piled up during the time they had spent at the hospital. Feeling he deserved a break, he contemplated giving his parents a call. After all, he still had to tell them about Blaine. They still hadn’t told any of their friends about it, but they thought families should be informed, and he knew Blaine had already talked thoroughly about it with Cooper over the phone.

It was not that he didn’t want his family to know, or that he was ashamed of Blaine –never, not in a million years–, but he had needed a little time to really believe his relationship with Blaine was real. Now that he was starting to get it through that thick head of his, it was time to share his happiness with the people he loved the most in the world –aside of Blaine, of course.

“Hey, mom” Sam said as soon as her mother picked up her phone.

“Hi, sweetie!” his mother answered, genuinely happy to hear him. “About time you’d call! I was starting to forget how your voice sounded!”

“I know, I’m sorry” Sam tried to justify himself. “I’ve just been really busy these last days catching up with all the work after Blaine’s accident”

“And how is he, by the way?” Mary asked, and Sam’s heart warmed at how much his mother adored Blaine, even if she didn’t know about them yet.

“Oh, he’s doing great. He still has to be careful with his ribs and his arm and he still gets tired too easily, but he’s doing much better”

“I’m glad to hear that, honey, give him all my love”

“I will, mom” he promised, and then he started getting a bit nervous. “And speaking about him… I need to tell you something”

“What is it, sweetheart? You sound serious” his mother asked, slightly worried.

“Blaine and I… are in a relationship” He confessed, his voice getting softer with each word.

“Yeah, Sam, I know that” Mary answered with a chuckle.

“What? Did you talk to him?” Sam asked in total confusion.

“No, why?”

“Then how do you know? We’ve only been dating for like a week”

“Really?” Mary asked, now she being the one totally confused.

“What do you mean, _really_? Of course, _really_!” Sam replied, annoyed. What the hell was happening?

“You really just started a relationship?” she asked skeptically.

“Yeah!” Sam protested.

“So all those times that I hinted at you how great you were together and you told me you were only friends… you were serious?”

“Of course I was serious!”

“I thought you were only embarrassed to talk about it!” his mother answered with a laugh, even if he didn’t find it that funny.

“Well, no”

“I really thought you’d been together for a long time, honey. My mistake” Mary apologized, still laughing.

“And here I was, thinking you’d be surprised about me dating my best friend. So that means… you’re okay with it?” Sam asked, even if he already knew the answer.

“Sam, of course I’m okay with it, and your father is too. You know we love Blaine, he is such a sweet boy… We know he’s going to take care of you, so we couldn’t be happier about it” Mary explained, more serious that time.

“Really?”

“Are you happy?” his mother asked him, and he didn’t hesitate for a second.

“More than ever”

“Then that is enough for me, honey” Mary explained, making Sam smile in relief.

“Thanks, mum. I gotta go now, but I’ll call you again soon, okay?”

“Okay, dear. But I’ll have you know I’m now expecting a visit from both of you soon so we can celebrate, okay?” Mary asked, obviously missing her son.

“Sure, mum. I love you” he answered, missing her just as much.

“I love you too, honey. And tell Blaine I love him too!”

“I will” Sam promised, laughing happily at his mother. “Bye”

“Bye, honey”

Wow. Not that he had really expected any problems, but for it to be so easy? His mother thought they had been dating for a long time, for God’s sake! I guess with them always been so close, and Blaine appearing there every now and them with him when he went home to visit… He had gone with Sam to support him when Stacey had been so ill in the hospital after all, he could see it was not that difficult to make that mistake.

He loved how his whole family adored Blaine… Both his parents loved him as their fourth child, as he was always so well mannered and sweet and perfect around them. And of course, the fact that he had always been such a good friend for Sam helped a lot. He was a great buddy for Stevie, always finding the time to play soccer with him when Sam and him were on a visit. And Stacey… well, she was totally in love with Blaine, Sam thought with a fond smile.

And there he was, once again daydreaming about his dreamy boyfriend and getting no work done. Being in love with Blaine –and Blaine loving him back– was clearly the best thing that had ever happened to him, but man, it was counterproductive for his job! But he couldn’t stop thinking about him, knowing that in that moment he was probably bored out of his head at home, taking a rest he didn’t feel he needed –although Sam fortunately knew better and watched over him constantly so he wouldn’t overdo it.

He felt like doing something nice for Blaine, after all he’d been through lately. Even if Sam could tell he was getting restless about staying home for so long, considering how difficult it was for him to stay still at best of times, he was being the model patient: he hadn’t complained once, he rested as much as Sam asked him to and he even kept a good mood through it, always welcoming Sam from work with his biggest and brightest smile. Sam was not an idiot, though, and he knew Blaine was behaving just for him, because he knew how much Sam worried about him and didn’t want to cause him more trouble than necessary. So he deserved to be spoilt a little, didn’t he? Especially considering how much Sam loved spoiling him.

With a sudden and perfect idea in his head, he just needed a little help, so once again he grabbed his phone and dialed.

“Hey, Tina” he said when the girl picked up her phone.

“Hi, Sam, what’s up?” she asked casually.

“I need you to do me a favor” he directly asked, not feeling the need to beat about the bush with his friend.

“Of course, what is it?” she asked.

“You’re seeing Blaine later, right?”

“Yeah, he called me yesterday and we are meeting for a coffee in the afternoon. So I guess you’re calling to warn me it’s the first time he’s leaving the apartment since his accident and to ask me to make sure he doesn’t overdo it, right?”

“Actually… I was going to ask you… could you make sure he doesn’t come back home for a couple of hours?” Sam blurted out.

“May I ask why?” Tina asked, a little too impertinently for Sam’s taste.

“I’d prefer if you didn’t”

“Ok, so in that case I won’t be able to help you, see ya” Tina feigned she was about to hung up, but Sam preferred not to risk it.

“No, wait! Tina, please, I need your help!” he begged.

“What for?” she insisted. Tina was a great friend, but did she have to be such a gossip?

“Ok, I… want to surprise Blaine with something”

“It’s not his birthday” she pointed out.

“I know that” he answered, kind of annoyed.

“So?”

“So Blaine will want to tell you… something himself and I don’t want to take that away from him” Sam honestly answered. Tina was Blaine’s friend first, after all, and Sam knew that Blaine had asked her to meet him precisely to tell her about them. “And besides, if I tell you, he’ll know I spoke to you and the surprise will be all ruined. Can you just do this for me, Tina? You’re going to find out later anyway, when he tells you”

“Alright, Sam” she finally relented. “I’ll do this for you and I’ll pretend I don’t know what he wants to tell me when he tells me”

“Well, you really don’t know” Sam replied, confused.

“Of course, Sam, I don’t know” she sarcastically replied. “Look, Sam… I’ll be very happy for you both when… when I know. You deserve it”

“Mmm… thanks, Tina. I guess” okay, Sam thought, so did everyone know about them before they even knew about them?

“I’ll see what I can do about keeping him out of the apartment for a couple of hours while you get that mysterious surprise ready”

“Thanks, Tina, you’re a sweetheart”

“I know”

“But don’t let him overdo it anyway” Sam reminded her.

“Oh, Sam, you’re insufferable”

“I love you too, Tina” Sam replied, his voice full of irony. “And thanks”

**********

Sam smiled to himself while he lighted the last of the candles he had spread all around the living room in his attempt to recreate exactly the date he had prepared for Blaine the night of his accident, and which they never got to enjoy. Even if it had been only like two weeks ago, everything was completely different now: it was still their first date, yeah, but Sam didn’t need to figure out if Blaine reciprocated his feelings or if he had a chance with him. Blaine was his boyfriend now, everything was going great, and the date was only to so something nice for him and to show him how much he loved him. And it was also a little for himself, Sam had to admit; last time the date hadn’t happened because Blaine had almost been killed in an accident, and Sam needed to put some kind of closure to a fear that still shook him every now and then and finish that date that should have never been interrupted.

With a wide grin, Sam looked around him and felt quite proud with his achievements: the food smelled delicious, the table was beautifully set, his Phil Collins ballads playlist was ready on his ipod and all the candles gave the room a mystic and romantic atmosphere that he knew Blaine wouldn’t be able to resist. He hoped it didn’t look too stupid: the other time he had not dared to fill the house with candles, worrying about if it was too much too soon. But he didn’t have to worry about that anymore, Blaine was already his and even if he did think it was too much, he would kindly joke about it and they would both split their sides laughing, so he went for it.

He looked at his watch, impatient for his lover to arrive. Tina had surely kept his promise and had kept Blaine out of the apartment for a good while. He hoped Blaine would be okay and Tina hadn’t worn him out; after all, it was the first time he had been out of the apartment for more than a tiny walk around their block since the accident –walks that Same loved, because they would hold hands and Blaine’s face would brighten with the sun and the fresh air and he would look even more beautiful than usual–. But before he had time to start worrying about him, Sam heard the sound of keys on the other side of the door and he waited expectantly.

“Sam?” Blaine called in wonder, his beautiful eyes bigger than ever, as soon as he opened the door and saw the place only illuminated with what seemed like hundreds of candles.

“Hi, sweetheart” Sam came to greet him at the door as soon as he was in, and he put his arms around the shorter boy while tenderly kissing his lips.

“What’s all this?” Blaine asked in amazement, and he turned around in Sam’s arms so the blond was still embracing him from behind but he could take a long look at the beautifully arranged room.

“This is… our first date, really, since we’ve still haven’t gone out to celebrate our love due to your injuries” Sam explained, squeezing his boyfriend around his waist and placing a kiss on the side of Blaine’s neck, eliciting that soft sigh he always got when he kissed Blaine’s neck that he loved so much.

“You didn’t have to go to all that trouble, love” Blaine explained, lifting his hand to caress Sam’s face, still on his shoulder, but by the amazed expression on his face Sam could see he was really moved by his surprise.

“Well, in fact that was the date we were supposed to have the night of your accident, so we never got to enjoy it. I hated that, and I really wanted to have it, so I just fixed it. Which reminds me” Sam said, letting go of Blaine to fetch something and reappearing in front of him just a few seconds later with a big bunch of flowers, “these are for you”

“Aw, Sammy” Blaine chuckled gratefully, bringing the flowers to his nose. “I can smell them this time”

“And let me put on some music” Sam suggested as he pushed on the button of his Ipod and Phil Collins started playing around the room.

“Phil Collins?” Blaine exclaimed with a grin. “Nice. You know how sentimental his music makes me feel, though. That’s cheating”

“No, that’s being intelligent” Sam contradicted him as he pulled out a chair for Blaine to sit to the table, and waited until he sat to kiss the top of his head and move to sit in front of him.

“Oh my God, you even cooked!” Blaine exclaimed as Sam uncovered the tray full of food and started serving both their plates.

“Well, of course, what kind of date would that be if I told you _okay, here are your flowers, now go and makes us some dinner_?”

Blaine laughed wholeheartedly at his boyfriend’s antics and Sam couldn’t feel prouder of himself at how happy Blaine looked, knowing it was him who had caused such a feeling on the curly-haired boy.

“Sam, this is delicious” Blaine exclaimed as soon as he tasted it, unconsciously making suggestive sounds of pleasure that were making Sam crazy.

“I told you I could cook” Sam answered, trying to keep his head on the dinner and on the romantic atmosphere they were enjoying.

“You certainly can” Blaine agreed. “So now that I know, you’ll have to do it more often”

“Damn, I didn’t think about that” Sam joked, making both of them chuckle.

**********

While Blaine took the last of the dishes to the kitchen after they finished eating, Sam moved to the sofa to wait for him, stretching his legs along the sofa and resting his back against one of the armrests. He contemplated for them to watch a movie, but the atmosphere was so romantic and pleasant he didn’t feel like breaking the moment yet. The music continued playing and he still didn’t switch on any lamps, letting the light from the candles flow lightly around the room.

“Come here, my sweet boy” Sam asked as soon as Blaine appeared, and put his hands around Blaine’s waist to guide him to sit between his legs, so he could rest his back against Sam’s chest. Blaine immediately obeyed and the blond’s arms encircled his waist without delay while his lips touched the top of Blaine’s head in an undying kiss. “Comfortable?”

“Like in heaven” Blaine answered, sighing deeply as he snuggled against his boyfriend’s body.

“So did you like my surprise? I bet you weren’t expecting it” Sam asked.

“Well, I wasn’t expecting it in the morning, but I knew something was up when Tina wouldn’t let me come back even when I claimed to be tired” Blaine confessed, softly laughing. “I mean, she normally is even worse than you worrying about me, and today she couldn’t care less I was exhausted!”

“But you’re okay now, aren’t you?” Sam asked, putting his arm around Blaine’s neck and to his opposite shoulder, keeping him close as he inevitably worried about him.

“Yes, Sam, I was just a little tired, but nothing to worry about” Blaine reassured him, gently kissing Sam’s exposed forearm while stroking it up and down.

“Because if you’re not feeling good and it was my fault…” Sam started apologetically, but Blaine didn’t want to even hear of it.

“Sam, I’m great. I swear to you” Blaine assured him, twisting his neck as far as he could to look at his worrier of a boyfriend. “I wouldn’t change a thing”

“So did you tell Tina? How did she take it?” Sam asked, apparently appeased at Blaine’s reassurances.

“She was very happy for us, she wouldn’t stop embracing me every five minutes!” Blaine explained, fondly laughing at his crazy friend. “Though she wasn’t that surprised, she said she had figured out something was up since your birthday party”

“Well, I told my mum today too” Sam confessed, and Blaine turned around again to assess Sam’s feelings about it.

“And what did she say? Was she surprised?”

“Oh, she was shocked” Sam answered, nodding.

“Was she?” Blaine insisted, visibly worried about the reaction of his boyfriend’s family.

“Yeah. About the fact we have just started dating. She was convinced we had been together for months”

“What?” Blaine asked with a relieved chuckle that Sam immediately reciprocated.

“Sweetheart, I think the only ones who didn’t know about us were actually us” Sam said, resting his chin on Blaine’s shoulder for more contact.

“That doesn’t make me fell dumb at all” Blaine ironically answered, and Sam giggled at that.

Just then, Phil Collins’ _Against all odds_ started sounding, and both of them sighed in spite of themselves.

“That must be my favorite song ever” Sam whispered, not wanting to disturb the peacefulness that surrounded them.

“Really? I thought Phil Collins was supposed to be my guilty pleasure” Blaine whispered back, chuckling.

“Yeah, but it reminds me of you in such a beautiful way… Remember when you sang it to me back at high school?”

“No, I sang it for everybody at the auditorium” Blaine contradicted him.

“Yeah, right, try telling yourself that” Sam answered with sarcasm, and Blaine giggled stupidly as an answer.

“You’re right, I don’t know who I am trying to fool”

“I remember being so moved by it…” Sam explained, reminiscing. “It was then when I understood you had a crush on me”

“I was so embarrassed when you told me you knew” Blaine groaned, so Sam squeezed him more strongly towards him.

“You shouldn’t have been. I wish I had known back then how much I was going to love you. I missed my chance, didn’t I?” Sam asked, suddenly sounding regretful. “If we had started something back then, I would have never let go of you. All the years together we’ve missed because of my own stupidity…” Sam lamented, and Blaine turned his head towards him to kiss him under his chin.

“But we’ve not missed them, really, you know? We’ve been together all along since then” Blaine tried to explain. “Maybe not in the way you mean but…. We moved together to New York to Rachel and Kurt’s apartment, then we moved with Mercedes, and then we found our own place, where we’ve been living together since then. We’ve never been apart since high school, Sam. Not for one day. I think that’s pretty big too”

“You know, when you put it like that, it’s pretty amazing” Sam admitted, nuzzling his nose against the back of Blaine’s neck.

“It is. It was a long race, but look where it brought us”

“Yeah” Sam nodded with dreamy eyes. “There’s something I don’t like about all of this, though”

“What?” Blaine asked, lifting himself from Sam’s chest to turn around and look at his boyfriend intently, slightly worried Sam was not so into their relationship as he was.

“That I can’t ask you to come live with me because we’ve already been living together for almost four years”

“That’s right” Blaine answered, openly laughing in relief, letting himself fall into Sam’s chest again, this time on his side so he could embrace him too.

“I would have been so romantic in asking you”

“Well, you can ask me to move into your room”

“You’ve already been sleeping there for days!” Sam protested, laughing.

“Just sleeping?” Blaine asked with a mischievous smile.

“Let’s say _spending the night_ then”

“Ok, but we haven’t made it official. You’ve never asked me to. I feel kind of… neglected” Blaine joked, but Sam kissed the top of his head as an apology anyway.

“Maybe… maybe we could find a new place. A place where we can start fresh as a couple” Sam suggested, out of nothing. He hadn’t thought about it before that moment, but suddenly it made sense.

“I think it could be a good idea…” Blaine slowly agreed, thinking about it. “This place holds… too many memories”

“Really?” Sam asked, surprised that Blaine always supported every decision or suggestion he made, however stupid they might seem. “You want to do it?”

“Yeah. It will be like properly starting our life together”

“So Blaine Anderson…” Sam said, mockingly serious as he grabbed Blaine’s hand in his. “Will you come live with me?”

“I’ll follow you anywhere you go, Sam” Blaine answered, and Sam could tell he was not joking by the strength of the grip Blaine kept around his torso.

“By the way” Sam said, suddenly remembering something. “Now that we were reminiscing about high school… I wanted to show you something”

Sam extricated himself from Blaine’s embrace, ignoring Blaine’s pout at the loss while trying not to laugh, and ran to his room to grab something, only to return a minute later with the sketchbook Blaine had gotten for him for his birthday. He sat on the sofa again next to his boyfriend and left the sketchbook on Blaine’s lap.

“While we were at the hospital and you spent so much time sleeping, I started thinking about the comic I’m supposed to create, and I started doing some sketches with the tools you got for me and… well, I think I already have a general idea about the plot and the main characters. Do you want to see it?”

“Yes, of course!” Blaine answered enthusiastically and waited for Sam to turn the pages to show him what he had been drawing.

It only took a couple of seconds for Blaine to understand what he was seeing and his mouth opened to say something but no words came out. Sam looked at him intently, waiting for a reaction, and the amazement on Blaine’s face was enough to see he really liked it.

“Sam, this is…” Blaine’s voice faltered because of how amazed and moved he was.

“This is the adventures of Nightbird and the Blond Chameleon, yes” Sam finished for him with the biggest smile, one hand turning more pages on his sketch book as the other found his way around Blaine’s waist to bring him closer to him, grateful for his constant support. “I have to work on the title, obviously, but this is the main idea”

“I can’t believe you’re doing this”

“It’s too silly, right?” Sam asked, a little deflated, but his mood changed immediately when Blaine jumped on his lap and threw his arms around him.

“No! It’s perfect!” Blaine assured him, hugging him lovingly.

“Well, this is kind of how everything started between us so… I think I’m going to love these characters very much” Sam confessed, grateful for the delicious weight of Blaine’s body on his lap. “Especially Nightbird, do you think he looks as sexy as you do? I really tried, I swear, but I don’t think your beauty can really be captured in a drawing”

“I don’t know, I think I like the Blond Chameleon the most” Blaine joked even if he was still blushing from Sam’s appraisal. “I mean, he is like the hottest superhero that ever existed”

“All in all, I think they make a pretty good couple” Sam smiled tenderly at his boyfriend, and he only had time to play with the curls falling on Blaine’s forehead for a second before the smaller boy passionately started devouring his mouth.

**********

“Okay, so what do you think?” Blaine asked, looking at Sam expectantly.

Sam loved how seriously Blaine took everything concerning both of them. It had only been three weeks since Sam had suggested for them to find a new place to live, and here they were, visiting one of the hundreds of apartments Blaine had pre-selected after days and days of meticulous searching of the internet, newspapers and real state agencies. Sam wasn’t looking forward for the whole searching thing as much as Blaine –he really wanted to move, he had come with the idea after all, but the process was so slow and boring–, but just seeing his face so full of excitement was enough to get Sam moving.

So they carefully inspected the place, looking at every tiny detail, and they were glad that the kind landlady had left them alone to give them some privacy as they looked around.

“What do _you_ think?” Sam asked back, wanting to know Blaine’s opinion before giving his, as Blaine sometimes tended to put his own opinions aside and go along with the other person too easily, and Sam surely didn’t want that.

“I like it” Blaine simply answered. “It’s not a bad neighborhood and it’s close to your work. Plus it’s bigger than our current place and it’s a little cheaper. It’s a gift!”

“That’s true” Sam agreed but it was obvious his heart was not in it.

“You don’t like it?” Blaine asked, more than slightly disappointed. “Well, it’s okay, it’s the first one we’re seeing actually, we don’t have to like it”

“No, it’s really nice” Sam assured him, putting his arm around Blaine’s shoulders to bring him closer to him.

“But?” Blaine asked, eliciting a soft smile from Sam at how well he knew him.

“But… two bedrooms?”

“Well, I thought that now that we’ll be sharing a room, you could have a nice office to work”

“Aw, you want me to have an office?” Sam was moved at Blaine’s thoughtfulness when it came to him, and he kissed his temple for good measure.

“Why not? You’re great at your work, and now you’ve started seriously working on your comic book, I think you need a proper working space where you can’t be disturbed”

“Then we should put a sofa in it for you to read while I work or something, because I can’t bear to spend so much time in a different room from you. No, I have a greater idea, we’ll put your piano in it, so you can play while I draw! You sound so beautiful that it really helps my inspiration!”

“Really? How can you be so sweet?” Blaine asked, putting his good arm around Sam’s waist to embrace him too.

“Me? It’s you who just gave me an office, man! You take everything I do so seriously, even if it’s a stupid comic book”

“Sam, both you and I know comics are not stupid. They’re part of what brought us together, right? And given how talented you are, yours is going to be the greatest one ever”

“Oh, I love you so much” Sam sighed, his eyes filled with love as he turned to his boyfriend and cupped both his cheeks to carefully kiss him.

“So what do you really think?” Blaine asked once the kiss broke and he resumed his place under Sam’s arm, where he felt so protected and at home.

“I don’t know… I’m still not convinced about the two bedrooms” Sam answered.

“Well, if you think you don’t need the office and would rather get an apartment with just one room and save some money, it’s alright for me too. Whatever you decide will be okay”

“Actually, I was thinking about… maybe three bedrooms?” Sam suggested, and for the life of his that Blaine couldn’t understand why Sam was blushing so much.

“Why? We don’t need so much space, do we?” Blaine asked in confusion when Sam continued avoiding his gaze. “Sam, what’s going on?”

“Nothing, I was just wondering it would be nice to have more space just... just in case… you know, for the future” Sam finally let out, his words coming out slowly and softly, as if they were afraid to leave Sam’s mind.

Blaine was sure he blacked out for a second after Sam’s words. Was his boyfriend talking about… children? They had been dating for so little time that they hadn’t still talked about the future and about what they both expected from it. Of course Blaine shouldn’t be surprised at Sam’s whishes: he was the most loving big brother he had ever known and he adored his siblings above everything else. He loved children and he had a lot of love to give. And Blaine did too: he had always wanted a large and very loving family where everybody could be themselves and still be loved and protected –exactly what he never had–. It was not that Sam was scaring him, quite the contrary. He was just shocked for a second at the possibility of everything he had ever wanted opening before his eyes. After all, Kurt had spent years trying to convince him they didn’t need any children, that they would be busy and happy enough with their careers and travelling around the world.

“Sammy, are you talking about starting a family?” Blaine asked, trying not to smile at Sam’s obvious embarrassment.

“I don’t know, maybe, in a distant future” Sam confessed, looking out of the corner of his eye at Blaine to see if he had scared him, but judging by the smile on the brunet’s face, nothing further from the truth.

“You’re so cute when you blush” Blaine announced with a chuckle.

“I’m not blushing” Sam complained, muttering under his breath.

“Oh, you so are”

“Leave me alone” Sam replied, playfully pushing Blaine away from him. “And what do you think?”

“I still think we should get this apartment” Blaine answered.

“You do?” Sam asked, more than a bit disappointed. Did that mean Blaine didn’t want a family with him when they were older?

“Yeah. Given we are still so young there is no need for us to have so much space just yet. We better get an affordable apartment like this so we can save all the money we can and when the time comes maybe we will be able to buy our own place. But not an apartment, you know? More like a cute house with a little garden. You know, for… little people to play and stuff” Blaine explained, a smiling breaking on his lips at Sam’s rapidly changing expression.

Sam went from biting his lip nervously to grin like an idiot in less than a second. He engulfed his boyfriend in his arms and pressed him so strongly to his chest while he kissed him full in the mouth that he lifted him from the floor.

“Every time I think I can’t love you more, you go and say something like that” Sam said, full of admiration, and he was glad to receive another kiss in gratitude for his words.

“I love you too, you know” Blaine answered, just as adoringly. “But put me down now, you big ox, I’m not your little toy”

“Oh, but you are little” Sam joked while he obeyed, though he didn’t let go of his boyfriend just yet.

“I don’t want you to get embarrassed when talking to me, love” Blaine gently reprimanded him. “You can talk to me about everything, you know that, right?”

“Yes, of course” Sam admitted. “It’s just… I was afraid that it was too soon to talk about something that serious and that you’d get scared”

“Nothing you can do or say will ever make me scared, okay? You’re everything to me”

“I know but… we’ve been together only for a month”

“Yeah, but you know we don’t have a common relationship, right? It’s like we’ve been dating for years, really” Blaine assured him.

“So… do you want to hear about my dreams for our future?”

“Yes, please” Blaine pleaded with a smile, liking how the words _our future_ sounded in Sam’s voice.

“I want a big house, which we won’t have any problems to pay when you become a Broadway Star, of course” Sam only half joked.

“And you a highly reputable author” Blaine added.

“You’re right, we are going to be quite rich. Anyway, we can have a big big house with the biggest garden so we can make the best barbeques and invite half the neighborhood every other Sunday. And of course we’ll have a set a swings and a slide, I always wanted to have some of those when I was little, so our…” Sam stopped all of a sudden, again feeling too self-conscious.

“Children?” Blaine finished for him, making both of them laugh kind of embarrassedly.

“Wow, it sounds so weird to talk about _our children_. But yeah, so our children can play there and be really happy… and we’ll have some dogs too, right?”

“How many do you want?”

“Well, two at the most, otherwise walking them would be a nightmare!”

“No, you idiot” Blaine interrupted, laughing unreservedly. “I meant how many children”

“Oh, I was thinking maybe two or three? I really think three is a good number, like me and my siblings”

“I can’t believe we’re talking about this” Blaine laughed again, clearly blushing at how perfect and weird it was to talk about starting a family with the person he loved the most in the world.

“See? I knew it was too soon” Sam answered, but he could see by the happiness in Blaine’s face that it was just the perfect moment.

“No, it’s just… I never knew we had the same dreams too”

“You like my dream?” Sam asked with a smile full of hope.

“It sounds like the perfect life. I almost can’t wait for it to happen”

“Ok, so then let’s hurry and tell the landlady we are keeping this place so we can start saving for it right now” Sam said, picking Blaine’s hand and pulling his arm to make him follow.

“Oh, alright” Blaine agreed with a smile, even if Sam almost got his good arm out of his socket with his enthusiasm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh my God, just one more chapter to go! I'm so sad!


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, so finally here it is! The last chapter! :( It took me longer than I expected and I struggled with it quite a bit, but I hope you like it and puts a good end to a little story i will cherish forever thanks to all of you! Please, enjoy!

Sam felt a strange combination of a lot of excitement and a little bit of nostalgia as he entered his apartment for what would be the last time. After two weeks of careful and exhausting packing, tomorrow would be the day he and his beautiful boyfriend would officially move to their new place. He couldn’t wait to start a new life there: they would be moving like a couple this time, and it just made it even more real. But he couldn’t help feel a little sad at leaving the apartment where they had shared so much.

When he opened the door, he was met with an absolute silence that surprised him. It had been the first day of Blaine back at NYADA, being almost completely recovered, but he should be home already. Even if Sam had asked him not to, he had been sure he would find him packing whatever was left instead of resting after a long day. But as he looked around, Sam could see some boxes that were not there before, so he had clearly ignored his pleas and packed anyway. He was going to hear him when he found him.

Turning around towards the couch, Sam felt a rush of tenderness when he saw the reason of the silence in the place: Blaine was deeply asleep in the sofa, lying on his back with his head turned to the side. Poor thing, he must have been exhausted to pass out on the sofa like that before dinner, Sam realized as all thoughts of reprimanding him flew out of his mind.. After all the packing from the previous days, his first day back to school and all the work he’d done after… Sam smiled fondly at how young Blaine looked like this, how his face relaxed and his curls got ruffled to the point he almost looked like a child. And his heart warmed even more when he noticed Blaine was wearing that sweatshirt that had belonged to him once but he had let Blaine keep. He knew it was silly, but seeing Blaine in his clothes just reminded him he belonged to him now, that it was his to love and protect, and it was enough to make the butterflies in his stomach come to life time after time. And considering how much Blaine loved wearing Sam’s clothes, even if they looked ridiculously big on him, that happened quite often.

Still not believing his luck of sharing his life with such a beautiful person, he took advantage of the fact that Blaine’s legs were a bit separated to lie between them on his front to be able to rest his head on Blaine’s stomach, his hands on the curly-haired boy’s sides. He just lay there with him, feeling embarrassed about the rush of feelings inside of him and the stupid grin he couldn’t erase from his face, and thought about what he had told Blaine all those days ago: how it had been worth the wait to reach the point they were now. Maybe it had taken them a lot to reach that state of Nirvana, but he surely wouldn’t change a thing.

After only a couple of minutes lying there, Sam started getting restless, needing for his boyfriend to be conscious to get some interaction out from him, and with a mischievous grin he lifted his head from Blaine’s body and raised his sweatshirt a little, just enough to be able to plant some butterfly kisses all along Blaine’s tummy. He knew how ticklish Blaine was around his middle, so it wouldn’t be long before he was awake.

“Sam” Blaine reprimanded him with his most beautiful smile –the one reserved only for Sam– even before he opened his eyes, his voice slightly slurred with sleep.

“How did you know it was me?” Sam chuckled, resting his chin on Blaine’s stomach to look at him.

“Well, considering only you and me live in this apartment, any other option would be pretty scary” Blaine joked.

“Just that?”

“And because no one enjoys tickling me as much as you do”

“It’s just that you have such a kissable tummy” Sam explained, resuming his kissing on Blaine’s skin until Blaine laughed and gently grabbed his hair to stop him.

“I really don’t know how to take that” Blaine answered, trying not to laugh and the tinkling of Sam’s breath on his skin.

“As a compliment, obviously” Sam answered, obeying Blaine’s worthless plight to stop and resting his head on Blaine’s belly again. “So how was your first day back?”

“It was good, but exhausting” Blaine explained.

“Maybe you weren’t ready to go back yet” Sam answered with a hint of worry in his voice.

“You’re so sweet for worrying about me” Blaine praised him, bringing his hand to Sam’s head to caress that blond hair he adored so much. “I’m okay, it’s just that I’m out of practice after so many days lazing around”

“I would call it being convalescing, but okay. Well, not even that considering you’ve been working on packing far too much for my liking. I can’t leave you unwatched for a second, can I? I thought we agreed you’d wait for me to pack the last of the boxes” Sam gently reprimanded him.

“Not really, you told me and I decided to ignore you”

“Well, that’s nice to know” Sam sarcastically replied, tinkling Blaine’s side with the tip of his fingers as revenge, laughing as Blaine tried, unsuccessfully, to stop him.

“I just didn’t want to spend the last night in this apartment working, Sam” he explained when Sam gave him a break. “I wanted to spend it with you”

“And I appreciate it, B, but…”

“But I’m alright. I promise. Just a bit tired”

“Well, if you behave, maybe I’ll give you a full body massage later” Sam offered as a peace offer.

“Oh, but I was good, wasn’t I? Aren’t you glad everything is been done now and we get to have our last night here for ourselves?”

“Why is it so important?” Sam asked, looking intently at his boyfriend.

“What?” Blaine asked back, not really understanding.

“Our last night here”

“Aren’t you going to miss it?” Blaine asked, his voice full of reminiscence.

“What, exactly?”

“This. Our first home”

“Aw, Blainey, are you getting sentimental?” Sam mocked him, bringing his hand to lay flat on Blaine’s stomach to rub it lovingly.

“A little bit” Blaine admitted. “Don’t tell me you aren’t at least a bit sad”

“Not really” Sam denied with a shake of his head.

“But we’ve lived so much in here” Blaine insisted.

“Yeah. As friends. And it was wonderful but… I really prefer a place to start my life with my beautiful boyfriend” Sam simply stated, winning himself a tender caress on his cheek from the shorter boy.

“Well, if you put it like that… The important thing is not where we live, right? Just as long as we get to do it together”

“Right. And we’re going to do it for a long, long time”

“Don’t you mean _forever_?”

“Yes, but I didn’t want to sound too soppy”

Blaine gave Sam one of his million dollar smile, the one he always got when Sam told him something that made him feel loved and special. And maybe Blaine didn’t knew, but it made Sam feel incredibly proud of himself for the fact that he was the only one who could make Blaine smile like that.

“You’re so beautiful” Sam whispered, marveling at the sparkle on his lover’s eyes at his words, and he resumed his previous path of kisses along Blaine’s belly, making the latter sigh in happiness until Sam blew a raspberry on his skin and made him laugh wholeheartedly.

“Trust you to ruin the mood like that” Blaine told him between laughs.

“You love me anyway” Sam said with a shining smile, carefully climbing up Blaine’s body until he was lying flat on him and their faces were aligned so he could join their lips in a long and lazy kiss.

“That I do” Blaine confessed, before encircling Sam’s neck with his own arms and giving him a kiss of his own. He wondered if it would come a day when only the nearness of Sam’s body wouldn’t make his heart race like it was doing at the moment, but he surely couldn’t see it happening any time soon.

“Good, I wouldn’t want to be the only one in love in this relationship” Sam said, looking at Blaine as if he was work of art.

“Well, you aren’t, so why don’t you stop talking and give your lips a better use?” Blaine encouraged him, and Sam grinned like an idiot before he gave his boyfriend exactly what he wanted.

 **********

_Four months later_

The sun was shining brightly in the sky as Sam and Blaine walked, hand in hand, down the street towards the mall. Blaine had been whining for weeks now about getting some curtains in their new apartment –though Sam doubted he could keep calling it new, after living there for four months–, and Sam hadn’t had the heart to deny him any longer, even if we could think of a thousand better things to do on a Saturday afternoon. But Blaine had given him puppy eyes, and when that had not been enough he had pouted, and from that moment Sam had known he was damned. Well, after being able to trick Blaine into leaving it for another day for weeks with kisses, loving ministrations and general trickery every time the issue came up, it was the least he could do, he thought while he smiled at his boyfriend, who just smiled back at him as he squeezed his hand.

Their comfortable silence as they walked was interrupted when Blaine’s phone started playing and _Wake me up before you go go_ filled the street, eliciting a few glances at the couple that made Sam blush quite obviously.

“Ok, you really got to get over Wham, dude” Sam whispered.

“Don’t call me _dude_ ” Blaine reprimanded him without being able to resist a big grin, and let go of Sam’s hand to take the phone out of his pocket. He then looked at the screen on his phone to see it was his brother calling. “It’s Cooper” he announced happily and brought the phone to his ear.

Sam smiled at his boyfriend’s obvious joy when talking to his brother and, not for the first time, silently loathed Blaine’s parents for leaving him with just a brother for a family. Feeling the familiar need for protecting him and making sure he knew how loved he was, he put his now free hand around Blaine’s waist and brought him closer to him as the shorter boy spoke to his brother, though said boy took a second to look at him and reciprocate his smile before he continued his conversation.

“No, it’s not a bad time, Coop, we were just going to the shopping mall to buy some things for our apartment, which you still have to see, by the way!… …You’ll be coming soon to visit, right?... …Oh, Sam and I thought we’d buy a sofa-bed for the office for when you come, since you obviously won’t be sharing my bed with me anymore… …Why do you mean _why_ , do I really need to explain it to you?... …No, Sam can’t be the one to sleep on the sofa, sorry… …What? Over my dead body!” Blaine exclaimed suddenly, making Sam burst out laughing.

“He suggested for you to sleep on the sofa and share with me, didn’t he?” Sam asked, laughing again at Blaine’s mockingly astounded face as he nodded in response.

“I’m warning you, Cooper, I’m seriously considering leaving you to sleep on our ordinary rock-hard sofa just so you learn your lesson”

“Yeah, shame on you, Cooper. You’re not the Anderson I want in my bed!” Sam shouted from Blaine’s side for his brother-in-law to hear him through the phone, but Blaine’s horrified face made him realize probably half the neighborhood –and everybody in the street– had heard him too.

“Yeah, Cooper, I’ve got to go. We’re entering the mall and I have a boyfriend to gag now… We’ll see you soon, right?... … I miss you too, Coop. Bye” Blaine said before hanging up and turning to his boyfriend with mockingly reproachful eyes.

“That was embarrassing” Sam stated, making Blaine chuckle.

“You don’t say!” Blaine replied with the biggest grin.

“Sometimes I don’t know how you put up with me”

“Sometimes I don’t either” Blaine answered, though he accompanied his words with a boop to Sam’s nose to make it clear he was just kidding. “It may have something to do with the fact that I’m crazy about you” he added with tender eyes, just before grabbing his boyfriend’s hand again and entering the building.

“Awww, how sweet was that” Sam joked, just before he unashamedly patted Blaine’s rear with his free hand.

“Sam!” Blaine reprimanded him, clearly blushing as he looked around to check if anyone had seen it.

“What? I suddenly got these booty feelings, and you have that perfect little cute ass and…” Sam replied, not precisely whispering, and laughed as he was predictably interrupted by his appalled boyfriend.

“Sam, stop it!” Blaine almost yelled at him, and he smiled apologetically to an old lady that passed them by looking almost as horrified as he was while Sam laughed unreservedly behind him.

**********

They soon found the Home Linen Shop Blaine had already visited some days prior and they went inside.

“The curtains I saw the other day are at the back of the store, let’s go and see if you like any of them” Blaine suggested, gently pushing his boyfriend in that direction.

He was about to follow him when he got distracted with some cushions he knew would go fantastic with their sofa. He was having a quick look around to show Sam later, when someone gently patted his shoulder.

“Kurt!” Blaine exclaimed in surprise when he turned around to see who it was.

“Hi, Blaine” Kurt answered with a smile.

“Wow, it’s been…” Blaine started, trying to count how many months had passed from the last time they saw each other, but Kurt beat him to it.

“A long time, yes”

“And how are you?” Blaine asked, friendly patting Kurt’s upper arm.

“Good. Really good, how about you?”

“Great, too. I’m… just buying some stuff with… with Sam” Blaine hesitated, not wanting to make the other boy feel uncomfortable, even if he looked genuinely glad to see him. “We moved some months ago and we still haven’t decorated the new place properly”

“Yeah, I… I heard you two finally worked it out” Kurt casually commented.

“Yeah” Blaine answered shyly.

“Are you happy?” Kurt asked out of nothing, and Blaine could tell he wanted an honest answer.

“Yes” Blaine admitted, unable to stop a little smile from breaking into his lips.

“Then everything was worth it, wasn’t it?” Kurt answered in all sincerity, and Blaine’s smile widened at him, feeling as if a big weight had been lifted of his shoulders. Although he obviously had never regretted choosing Sam over Kurt, he had secretly always felt bad about the pain he unintentionally had caused Kurt when he refused to get back together with him.

Before Blaine could find the right words to answer his former boyfriend, he heard confident footsteps behind him, and the arms that immediately encircled his waist from behind confirmed it was Sam, unable as usual not to be in direct physical contact, coming back to him.

“Hey, sweetie, these curtains you say…” Sam started, but stopped all of a sudden when he noticed the presence of Kurt in front of his boyfriend, so he awkwardly greeted him without letting go of Blaine. Just in case it was needed to make a point about whose boyfriend Blaine was, even if that sounded irrationally possessive. “Oh, hi, Kurt”

“Sam” Kurt greeted him back with a smile. “What a coincidence to find you both here, of all places”

“Yes, indeed” Sam agreed with caution, still not knowing how the conversation was going until he arrived, and how did Blaine feel about it, though he seemed alright.

“We were just getting up to date with everything” Blaine explained, resting his own hands on top of Sam’s, still around his waist, just wanting to comfort him in case Sam was feeling awkward or out of place or jealous or whatever he might be feeling at such a sudden encounter.

“Yeah, so what’s with your life?” Kurt asked, turning back to Blaine. “I guess you already finished at NYADA, right? Any projects?”

“Yeah, I already finished my degree and there are a couple of things that are not looking bad” Blaine explained, blushing a little.

“He’s just being modest” Sam interrupted, and Kurt was moved at the pride he could see in Sam’s eyes when talking about his boyfriend. “He’s mister success lately!”

“Really? What’s going on? Tell me all about it” Kurt enthusiastically begged.

“Well, I made the music for a little independent show off-Broadway, nothing big, but it’s going pretty well” Blaine explained, trying to be modest, but Sam was having none of it.

“And he got a second call for an audition in a Broadway musical!” Sam exclaimed, squeezing his boyfriend more strongly to his chest, extremely proud of him.

“It’s just a call back” Blaine humbly empathized.

“Yeah, honey, but it’s for _Les Mis_!” Sam replied, and then turned to Kurt. “Can you believe that?”

“Wow, Blaine, that’s amazing!” Kurt agreed. “So since you’re obviously too young to be Jean Valjean, I’m guessing maybe Marius? Enjolras?”

“It’s for Enjolras, indeed” Blaine answered. “It’s still too soon to go for a main character, I think”

“Oh, but Enjolras is quite a challenge too! He is such a great character!” Kurt added.

“Indeed he is! And Blaine is going to be a great Enjolras!” Sam intervened.

“They haven’t picked me yet, Sam” Blaine reminded him, fondly shaking his head at him.

“But they will” Kurt assured him. “I’ve seen you playing Tony in _West side story_ and it was like you were born in a stage”

“I can’t wait for the big opening! I’ll be at the audience every single night” Sam insisted until Blaine playfully hit his arm.

“Sam! I still didn’t get the part!”

“But you’re going to”

“And what about you, Sam!” Kurt added, now turning to the blond guy. “I saw your comic book being sold by the Internet! I couldn’t believe that finally the adventures of Nightbird and the Blond Chameleon saw the light of day! I must admit I showed off a little in front of some friends because I knew the author… So congratulations”

“Thanks, man” Sam honestly replied, glad they’d had the chance to put all the tension between them to rest. “But it’s really thanks to Nightbird here that I finally got to do it”

“Oh, honey, you had it in you, I just gave you a little push” Blaine responded, lovingly caressing Sam’s face, still perched on his own shoulder.

“What a pair of winners you are! You’re going to conquer the world for sure” Kurt observed, eliciting a smile from both of them.

“And what about you, Kurt?” Blaine asked, both because he didn’t want Kurt to feel uncomfortable at their affection displays and because he really cared and hoped that the man he had loved for years was happy. “I bet you’re having your piece of the cake too”

“Well, I’m doing great at Vogue, to tell you the truth” Kurt agreed, nodding proudly. “I got promoted a couple of months ago and… I really think I’m going to make a career out of it”

“That’s great, Kurt” Blaine said, and Sam nodded in agreement.

“And… I met someone there, we’re just starting something, but I have high hopes it’s going somewhere”

“Great, Kurt! I’m so happy for you” Blaine exclaimed with his biggest smile.

“I know you are. You’ve always had the biggest heart” Kurt said, with a little bit of nostalgia in his voice, but he shook his head and broke the moment before it got too sentimental. “Maybe… maybe we could get together sometime for… I don’t know, a coffee or dinner”

“I would love that” Blaine replied.

“Sam, you will come too, right?” Kurt turned to the other boy.

“Sure” Sam answered, a little surprised he had been included in the offer, after everything that had happened between them the last few times they’d seen each other. “You should come to see our new place. And maybe you can introduce your boyfriend to us too”

“Actually, that would be nice” Kurt immediately agreed. None of them would have expected everything to go so smoothly just a few months ago, but they were all glad they could be adults about it. “Kind of a double date, right? So I’ll call you soon, ok?”

“Yes, do it” Blaine pleaded happily.    

“I think I owe you both an apology, don’t I?” Kurt suddenly offered, the light atmosphere around them changing visibly.

“Kurt, you don’t need…” Blaine tried to dismiss it, but Kurt didn’t let him.

“Yes, I need to, Blaine. Especially to you. You were the best thing that ever happened to me and I took you for granted. I was so selfish… Sam was right, I never deserved you” Sam lowered his face at that, embarrassed at recognizing his own words in Kurt’s mouth, but he noticed Kurt wasn’t being reproachful at all, but agreeing with him. “It was a pity that I understood that when it was too late”

“Kurt, we already talked about this and we said all we had to say about it. Let’s just leave it and look ahead of us” Blaine suggested, feeling sorry for the other man.

“Yeah, but I’ve had a lot of time to think about it these last few months and… it was just something I needed to tell you. And Sam… I don’t know how you can still talk to me, given how horrible I was to you! Those were some interesting discussions we had, right? I guess I felt threatened because you seemed to understand Blaine much better than I did. And because somehow I always knew you were made for each other, and I took my frustrations on you. I’m sorry for that”

“Kurt, it’s been ages. As Blaine said, we are all happy we could put all that behind us” Sam answered, appreciating Kurt’s apology.

“Yes, Kurt. Everything is alright now” Blaine added, squeezing Kurt’s shoulder for a minute.

“It is, really, because I see you two together and I can clearly see it was meant to be. You’re so made for each other I don’t know how we didn’t see it sooner” Kurt chuckled.

Sam was very close to joke about the fact that he had indeed known it long before it happened, but he didn’t know if his comment would be appreciated, so he decided to remain quiet.

“It was great seeing you again” Blaine said with a kind smile.

“Likewise” Kurt answered, reciprocating his smile. “So I’ll give you a call soon to fix that dinner, ok?”

“Ok” Blaine nodded at him.

“See you soon then, boys” Kurt said and with a tender squeeze to Blaine’s upper arm, he disappeared amongst the shelves of the shop.

Sam waited for a few seconds before saying anything, just holding his boyfriend and rocking them slightly, giving the curly-haired boy time to put his thoughts in order. He didn’t doubt Blaine for a second, of course, he knew he loved him endlessly and he didn’t have any feelings for Kurt anymore. But he had loved Kurt for years, and seeing him after months of not hearing from him would surely shake him a little. But Sam was there to make it all better, so he placed a tender kiss on Blaine’s temple and gently turned him around so they were facing each other.

“He looked alright, didn’t he?” Blaine asked, all of a sudden. “I mean, he wasn’t faking it, he really looked like he was happy”

“Yes, I think so” Sam agreed as he put his arm around Blaine’s shoulder and directed him to the back of the store.

“I’m so glad” Blaine commented, and Sam marveled, not for the first time, at how big Blaine’s heart seemed to be.

“You mean, you can finally stop feeling guilty about him?”

“I’ve never…”

“Don’t even try. I know you inside out, remember?” Sam told him, looking knowingly at him until Blaine relented with a chuckle.

“Ok, yes, I guess I can finally stop feeling guilty now” Blaine admitted, rolling his eyes at his observant boyfriend.

“You alright?” Sam asked, in his most tender voice, while giving Blaine’s cheek a noisy kiss and putting his other arm around Blaine’s upper body to embrace him completely.

“I couldn’t be better” Blaine admitted as he let himself be engulfed in his boyfriend’s arms.

“Great, because if you hadn’t been I wouldn’t have had the heart to tell you how awful those curtains you wanted really are” Sam only half joked, and he had to laugh wholeheartedly at the offended expression on his partner.

“You moron, they’re beautiful!” Blaine protested, extricating himself from Sam’s embrace to put his arms around Sam’s neck and pretend to choke him.

“Look, it’s Saturday and it’s sunny, and I love you and I want to do funny things with you and I don’t want to spend the day buying some curtains we don’t really need” Sam said in a rush, expecting Blaine to contradict him and throw a big tirade about why curtains were important in their lives and how much of a procrastinator Sam was.

But instead, Blaine just gave him one of his million-dollars smile –the one that was only Sam’s– and turned Sam around to jump on his back for a piggyback.

“Ok, Blond Chameleon, get me out of here!” Blaine said, a little too loud judging by the faces around them, but Sam couldn’t be happier about it as he hooked his hands under Blaine’s knees to balance him for the ride.

“At your services, Nightbird!” Sam responded as he started running towards the exit with that precious burden on his back, making a few cushions fall on their way with Blaine’s feet.

“Sorry!” Blaine yelled at their backs between laughs, for the first time in his life not caring about anything or anyone that wasn’t him and the wonderful man unashamedly giving him a piggyback ride on a full mall, and knew he had finally found his soulmate and the person next to whom he wanted to spend every minute of the rest of his life.

**THE END**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Taa-daaaa! The end! Was it nice, then?
> 
> Ok, about the possible sequel. I'm working on it, and I really really want to do it (though now that I'm working it will probably go a little slower, but whatever), it's just that I still haven't founf the complete plot to include the scenes I've already written for it!
> 
> Meanwhile, I was thinking if anyone wants to send me any prompts for one-shot Blam stories (yes, only Blam, I can't do any more pairings apparently, sorry) I'll be happy to try and make something of it! Send it here by PM or at tumblr (for those who don't know me, I'm likeinyourfunnylittlebrains)
> 
> I wanted to thank you all of you, readers, and especially everyone that's taking the time to review, some of them chapter after chapter, you guys are the best! Thank you so much, really, you've made me really happy!
> 
> See you soon! :)


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